


Can you feel this magic in the air?

by thepoetinmyheart



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - The Selection Fusion, Like the Bachelorette except the contestants are more sane, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-17
Updated: 2018-04-19
Packaged: 2018-11-01 23:06:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 36,332
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10931901
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thepoetinmyheart/pseuds/thepoetinmyheart
Summary: Bellamy Blake can't help but be annoyed when he is drawn as a member of the Selection, one of 30 people randomly chosen to come to the Royal Palace to win the heart of Princess Clarke (and become the next King/Queen).  He didn't even want to be entered, his younger sister did it for him.  When the Selection begins, he discovers that maybe the Princess isn't as stuck-up as he thought she would be, and he might have a lot to offer the country of Arkadia if Clarke chooses him to rule alongside her.Based on Kiera Cass's The Selection series.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fic, I decided to write it because I'm a huge fan of The Selection (there's actually a really good edit with a quote from one of the books with pictures of Bellarke so they definitely fit together) and because I'm home from university and am currently bored out of my mind, so I'll try to update as often as I can!
> 
> One quick thing- I'm distinguishing between Bellamy calling Clarke "princess" and Clarke's title as Princess with a capital and lowercase P, it probably doesn't matter but I wanted to show the difference :) 
> 
> And yes, the title is a lyric from a Taylor Swift song, I couldn't think of anything else to name it

Deep down, Bellamy probably should have known this would happen. Ever since Princess Clarke turned 18 and the announcement that applications for her Selection would be opening soon, all Octavia has talked to him about is who her suitors could be, while intensely watching his reaction. Octavia thinks the whole Selection is very romantic- 30 suitors, one from each province of the country of Arkadia, randomly selected to come to the palace to compete for Clarke’s hand in marriage, and assume the title of King or Queen alongside Clarke when she becomes Queen.

“I would give anything to have 30 gorgeous people competing over me” Octavia sighs, as she watches Marcus Kane, the charming host of the Arkadia Report, excitedly encourage all men and women aged 18-22 to apply for the elite competition.

Despite having worked at the palace all of his life, Bellamy has never directly interacted with the princess, so he really couldn’t care less about who she will marry, as long as they don’t turn the country into a dictatorship. In fact, if he didn’t despise her for being a One, which was the most privileged rank in Arkadia’s antiquated caste system, he might even feel a little bit sorry for her. The chances of finding your soulmate from a random pool of people are slim to none, and it seems like it would be embarrassing attempting to date for the first time with the whole country watching. 

A few days after the announcement is made on the Report, the letter comes in the mail. Octavia slams it down on the table in front of Bellamy, and says “Come on Bell, you have to enter”.

Bellamy glares at her. He’s had a long day, since it is prime hunting season, and as one of the best hunters in the Palace he is required to spend most of his day in the forest. The last thing he wants right now is a lecture from his sister about the stupid Selection.

“O, I have no interest in courting the princess. Besides, think of how many people are applying. Realistically, what are my odds of being chosen?”   
“If your odds of being chosen are so low, what’s the harm in trying?” Octavia responds slyly, raising an eyebrow at him. “Besides, just being selected means you get some money, even if you don’t last past the first day”.

Octavia knows that playing the money card could help change his mind. Even though Bellamy is one of the best hunters, and Octavia a promising horse trainer, they still struggle with money. The extra cash would be a huge help for them. They were Sixes, meaning they were just two castes above being homeless, and had struggled for most of their lives trying to make ends meet. 

Bellamy considers it for a moment. Getting extra money would be a good thing, but it isn’t enough incentive for him to become friendly with the members of the royal family. “I’m sorry, but my answer is still no”. With that, he storms out of the room.

Sighing, Octavia walks out of the small cabin she and Bellamy share. She knows that Bellamy would be a good King, he has such a big heart and could really improve the lives of the people of Arkadia. While walking to the stable to start her evening duties, she replays her conversation with Bellamy in her head over and over, trying to think of a way to change his mind. She is so caught up in her own thoughts that she doesn’t realize that Princess Clarke herself is standing in front of her until she almost knocks her over.

“Your Highness, I am so sorry!” Octavia apologizes, grabbing her arm to ensure she doesn’t fall.

“It’s okay, please don’t worry about it” she replies. “I can be very absentminded myself, I can't count the number of times I've gotten distracted while riding and almost fallen off”.

Octavia bites back a smile, she’s heard the barn staff come back in a frenzy whenever Princess Clarke comes close to injuring herself under their watch. “Are you sure you’re all right?”, she asks again.

“I promise I’m fine”, the Princess says. “Whatever you were thinking about must be very important, though. You seemed deep in thought”.

“It is important”, Octavia admitted. She briefly debates whether or not she should tell the Princess about her argument with Bellamy, then decides she may as well. “I’m actually trying to convince my brother to enter your Selection. He isn’t too fond of the idea since he likes to keep to himself, and being in the Selection is about as much public exposure as you can get”.

It’s not the whole truth, but Octavia figures that telling Princess Clarke her brother can’t stand the way her parents run the country wouldn’t be a good idea. To Octavia’s surprise, she laughs.

“I don’t blame him for that, there are moments when I wish I could lead a more private life. But, this is the life I was born into, and I have to accept that being royalty means giving up my privacy”. She pauses for a moment. “If you don’t mind me asking, what is your brother like?”

“He’s the hardest worker I've ever met, and he’s one of the best hunters in the palace” replies Octavia proudly. “He’s taken care of me by himself since he was 16. He can be a bit of a grump, but underneath he is really caring, and I truly believe he would be a great King. And, I suppose he is objectively handsome, but since I’m his sister I try not to think about that too much”.

Princess Clarke is clearly amused at her last sentence, but her face becomes serious. “Well he definitely sounds like the kind of person I’m looking for”. She lowers her voice, and says “I really hope you can change his mind”. With that, she walks out of the stable, two guards springing into action to follow her.

For a moment, Octavia is awestruck that she actually talked to the Princess, and that she seemed interested in Bellamy. Reality sets in and she walks off to start bringing the horses in, a plan on how to ensure Bellamy was entered in the Selection (whether he agreed to it or not) already being formulated in her mind.

Three weeks later, Octavia and Bellamy sit around the television, watching as the names of the suitors from each province are called out. There are a few suitors that Bellamy can see the princess reacting to with extra excitement, such as Lexa from Arborum and Finn from Mecha. Naturally, the last province called is the one the Palace is located in.

“And finally, from the province of Polis, Bellamy Blake!” Octavia shrieks, and Bellamy stares at the TV in shock. Then, he starts recounting the last few weeks- how Octavia came back from the stables on the night of their argument and stated in a weird tone that she was okay with it if he didn’t enter the Selection, how she was constantly hiding things under her pillow every time he entered her room, and most suspiciously how she insisted on getting portraits of the two of them taken “to celebrate the time when their lives were finally looking positive”. So, taking all of that into consideration, Bellamy really shouldn’t have been as surprised as he was when he was selected.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's a good thing I wrote this chapter before last night's episode because it absolutely destroyed me...anyone else?!

The next few weeks were a whirlwind for Bellamy. It took approximately ten minutes from his name being called for his and Octavia’s friends from around the palace to show up at their cabin, and they just kept coming. In the morning, he was subjected to a long interrogation by the head of the Selection Committee to ensure that he had not had any interactions with the princess that would give him an unfair advantage over the rest of the suitors. Luckily, he had a lot of people who were able to vouch for him. 

He then had to spend many afternoons going over the official rules of the Selection. Who knew that a glorified dating game would take so long to explain? Only the Princess could initiate dates, he wasn’t allowed to fight with any of the other suitors, relationships with anyone else were strictly forbidden, and, Bellamy’s least favourite rule, whatever the Princess asked for he had to comply. The idea that she could take advantage of him whenever she wanted to infuriated him so much that Octavia had to put her hand on his arm to ensure he didn’t say anything stupid.

There were some benefits, though, such as Bellamy’s caste was changed from 6 to 3. The caste system had been in place since the founding of Arkadia, and people were born into their parents’ caste. Your caste determined what jobs you were able to have and thus your income, and 6’s usually had many odd jobs at a time. Caste change was rare, and only occurred when people married outside their caste. People in the lower caste would have to appeal to become a member of their partner’s caste, and those appeals were rarely granted. Bellamy didn’t care about being a member of a higher caste, but it did mean that whenever the princess inevitably asked him to leave, he could finally move himself and Octavia away from the palace.

Octavia couldn’t be more excited that Bellamy had been chosen. Even though she knew the Selected were chosen on a lottery system, she had a feeling that his name would be drawn after Princess Clarke expressed interest in meeting him. Octavia was a romantic at heart, and she was a believer in fate. Now, she just had to get Bellamy to believe in it as well. The night before Bellamy had to leave for the palace, she found him sitting on the porch, staring out into the distance.

“Couldn’t sleep?” He doesn’t even look up at her.

“What do you think”, he replies bitterly. “I have to try and woo a girl I have no interest in, whose family is symbolic of the caste system which has caused so much misery in our lives, and if that isn’t bad enough the whole nation is going to watch me make a fool of myself”.

“It’s going to be okay”, she reassures him. “I’ve spoken to Princess Clarke, and she’s actually a very sweet girl. Besides, if you are really miserable, you could always ask for her to dismiss you.”

“You’ve talked to her?” Bellamy inquires, surprised at that statement.

“I have, the day your letter arrived, actually. I ran into her at the stables, and when I told her about you, she said you seem like the kind of person she’s looking for, and I agree with her. Bell, you are such a caring person, and if you became King you could really make a positive difference in the lives of Arkadians.”

He looks over at his sister, still unsure. “But for however long I last I won't be around to take care of you, like I promised Mom I always would”.

“For God’s sake Bellamy I’m 17, I can take care of myself for a little while. I know how serious you are about protecting me, but you’ve done a really good job of it for my whole life, really- I don’t remember Mom being around that much. You’ve sacrificed so much for me, and now you have a chance at happiness. I want you to promise me that you’ll at least be open to the possibility of winning the Selection”. She looks at him with such a yearning expression that Bellamy can’t help but smile. 

“I promise I’ll try”. They sit side by side in silence for the rest of the night, knowing that their lives are about to completely change. 

The next morning, Bellamy packed up a meager bag of belongings, and was escorted by members of the Guard for the five-minute walk from his cabin to the Palace. Bellamy found it completely unnecessary, but they insisted on providing him with the same level of protection they gave the other members of the Selection, despite him already living on the Palace grounds. When he arrives at the Palace, his bag is taken by servants and he is immediately ushered away to get his makeover done, whatever that entails. He sighs to himself- it’s going to be an interesting day.

The woman at his station gets to work cutting his curly hair so that is more evenly layered and less unruly. Bellamy is grateful that a haircut and a slight shave are the only thinsg he needs changed, unlike the female contestants, some of whose hair are being dyed completely different colours. Once his haircut is done, and Bellamy has to admit it looks better like this, the woman sprays some cologne on him.

“It’s Princess Clarke’s favourite scent” she says with a wink. The cologne smells of pine, and thankfully isn’t too overpowering. Bellamy is then sent to his room, where he meets his butler Miller, who informs him that he will be dining with the rest of the Selected in three hours. They will not be meeting the princess until morning. Bellamy nods and takes in his surroundings. Never in his life did he imagine he would be surrounded by such luxury. His bed is giant with silk sheets and a thick comforter, he has a bathroom all to himself with more settings that he thought would be humanely possible in the shower, and best of all a balcony that gives him a gorgeous view of the sprawling fields of the Palace. He decides to go sit on the balcony until Miller informs him that it is time for him to get dressed for dinner. Bellamy walks back inside, and opens up his closet which is filled with about a week’s worth of formal pants, shirts and jackets.

“I have no idea what I’m supposed to wear” admits Bellamy. Miller simply chuckles, and helps him chose an outfit, and explains the basics of what he should wear on the different events he will have to attend. Five minutes later, Bellamy is heading down the staircase, ready to meet his competition for the heart of a girl he isn’t even sure he wants.

A few floors above the commotion of the Selected meeting for the first time, Princess Clarke is finishing up a drawing when she hears a knock on her door. When she opens it, she sees that it is Raven, her future lady-in-waiting/maid. Raven’s mother had left her to the palace when she died, and Clarke quickly became friends with her, and decided that Raven should be her personal attendant when she became Queen.

“You have to eat in your room tonight since you aren’t allowed to meet the Selected until tomorrow, and your parents have some business to attend to before then” Raven informs Clarke. 

“I hope you brought enough for the both of us, because I need your help learning their names” Clarke admits.

“Wait, you haven’t even memorized their names yet?” Raven laughs. “What kind of Princess are you?”

“One that procrastinates on things she really doesn’t want to do” Clarke replies. “This whole process is so terrifying, how am I supposed to choose someone I love, who loves me, who would be a good ruler and who the country trusts? What if there isn’t anyone who’s right for me?”

“Then you pick the hottest one and make all the important political decisions for them” says Raven with a smirk. “But in all honesty, I promise you’ll find what you’re looking for. Yours is the fifth Selection, and it’s worked every time before. You just need to be optimistic.”

“I promise I’ll try” says Clarke. She gets up and walks over to her desk, and grabs the thick stack of profiles on the Selected which she hasn’t looked at since her father, King Jake, gave them to her. Raven takes half of them, and they start going through them together, marking the candidates she is most interested in with a red marker.

Bellamy lies awake for a few hours after the dinner. It wasn’t a total disaster; he did meet a few people that he could see himself becoming friends with. But, the realization of what he is doing hits him hard, and he decides to sneak out to the stables to see if he can find Octavia, who usually volunteers to do the final checks of the horses to spend some time with her favourite horse, Helios. He pulls on some shoes, and heads down the marble staircase to the back doors as quietly as he can. He hears a commotion further down the hall, which sends the guards towards the noise. Grateful for the disruption, Bellamy opens the door and runs as fast as he can to the stables.

When he gets to the stables, the chart indicating all the chores have been finished is completed, but to Bellamy’s surprise there is someone in one of the horse’s stalls. He grabs a pitchfork for protection, and walks over to look in. Two bright blue eyes look over at him, and Bellamy realizes with a shock that the person he was about to hit in the head with a pitchfork was the princess herself.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not related to the story, but I highly recommend listening to the season 4 soundtrack if you haven't already, it came out today! I do wish there were more brass instruments in it (but that's definitely because I play French horn and am extremely biased towards brass as a result), but all the pieces are so incredibly beautiful. That ends my mini music rant, hope you all enjoy the chapter!

For a moment, both Bellamy and Clarke stand in shock. Bellamy can feel all of his resentment towards her and the royal family leaving his mind the longer he looks at her, and Clarke is berating herself for having to meet her potential future husband smelling like manure. Finally, Clarke speaks.

“You’re…you’re one of the Selected, right?”

“I am” Bellamy responds, surprised at how nervous he is to be speaking to her. “I’m Bellamy Blake, the-”

“The contestant who works at the Palace, I remember now” she says warmly. “I met your sister a few weeks ago, she spoke very highly of you. I assume you being here means that you changed your mind about wanting to be in the Selection?”

“Not exactly” Bellamy admits. “She kind of entered me without my permission, and now I guess I’m just here to make some extra money until you deem me unworthy.”

Clarke giggles at the last part, he’s very well-spoken considering he probably wouldn’t have had much formal education. “Well that definitely sets you apart from the other Selected, and I’m glad you’re honest with me about it, honesty is something I value very highly.”

Bellamy nods. She’s a lot nicer than he expected. “So you’re okay with the fact that I just admitted that I can't really see myself falling in love with you?”

“I mean it is a bit surprising to hear that you got selected even though you don’t want to be here considering that there were hundreds of thousands of applicants, but I guess at this point I’m just hoping that I may be able to prove you wrong” she replies with a wink that catches Bellamy off-guard.

“I guess we’ll just see what happens, princess.”

“That’s Princess Clarke to you, Sir Bellamy”.

“I think just princess is fine” he smirks and turns to leave.

“Bellamy, wait”. She grabs his arm, and they both look at where her fingers are just touching the bare skin on his wrist. “I’m not supposed to meet you until tomorrow, so if you could not mention that we met beforehand that would be beneficial for both of our sakes, particularly since some people think you may have an advantage since you work here”.

“I won’t say anything I promise” he says sincerely. “I’ll head back to the Palace now, but I’ll take a different route so the Guards don’t figure out that we were here together”.

“Probably a good idea” replies Clarke. “Goodnight, Bellamy”

“Goodnight, Princess…Clarke”. He pauses for a moment before saying her name which makes her smile, and then walks out into the night.

Clarke can’t believe what just happened. He was snarky but had a certain charm to him, and boy was he handsome. She mentally berates herself for falling for the first member of the Selection she meets, but if they all make her heart race like Bellamy did, the Selection is going to be even more difficult than she thought.

When Bellamy wakes up the next morning, he is initially confused- how in the world did he end up in a bed in the Palace? Then, he starts to remember the events of last night, and his impromptu first meeting with the princess. She really was beautiful and actually had a sense of humour; not at all like the stuck-up, standoffish girl he was expecting. He also likes that he got to meet her before the rest of the contestants, it’s going to be a fun little secret to keep. He hears a knock on the door, and Miller enters.

“Good morning, Sir Bellamy. Breakfast is in half an hour. Did you have a restful evening?”

“I did, thank you Miller. And just Bellamy will be fine, you can drop the Sir part” he jokes.

“It is your official title as a member of the Selected” Miller states.

“I know, but there’s no need for you to be formal around me; it’s going to be weird enough with everyone else addressing me like that”.

Miller raises his eyebrows in surprise that Bellamy is already aware of how he is going to be addressed, but doesn’t question it. Instead, he helps Bellamy pick out an outfit suitable for meeting the Princess- a light blue dress shirt and black pants. Bellamy spends a few minutes trying to gel his hair, but gives up and decides to leave it in its natural curly state. Octavia always joked that he looked like an evil twin of himself with his hair gelled anyway. At precisely 9:00, Bellamy heads down the stairs to the dining hall for his first official meeting with Clarke.

The atmosphere at breakfast is very different from last nights’ dinner. Everyone is filled with a nervous, excited energy knowing that one of them in the room is moments away from meeting his or her future wife. Bellamy sits with two boys he met at dinner last night who seem have become close friends already, Monty and Jasper. They are both threes in training to be scientists, and have spent most of the breakfast discussing the various different ways to make and illegally distribute moonshine. Bellamy is surprised at how easily he is getting along with them, despite the fact that this is a competition of sorts.

The entrance doors to the dining hall dramatically swing open, and the royal family enters. Taking a cue from the photographers and servers present, the members of the Selection rise from their seats to acknowledge their presence.

“You may all take your seats” says King Jake, smiling at the awestruck faces looking up at them. “I know you are all eager to meet my lovely daughter, but you will be doing so after we finish eating- she can be a bit of a grump when she’s hungry!”

Everyone laughs politely at his joke, even Clarke herself. Bellamy sees her scanning the tables, and when he catches her eye he gives her a smile, and she smiles back and discreetly winks at him. He blushes slightly, and looks down.

The royal family takes their seats, and the meal resumes, with a lot more talking than before. Everyone is looking over at Clarke, discussing what they’re going to say to her and ranting about how good she looks (the blue of her dress is similar to the blue of his shirt, Bellamy thinks smugly). She spends most of the meal talking and laughing with her parents, but as the meal draws to a close Bellamy can see her face start to pale a bit.

For the millionth time in the last few weeks, Clarke wonders if the Selection is going to be worth it. She did have a choice in whether or not it was going to happen, as her parents needed to secure a peace treaty with a powerful Scandinavian country, and they thought an arranged marriage would be a good way to do it. Clarke had met the boy, Prince Roan, a few times, and although he was nice enough, she decided that she would rather have the chance to pick her future spouse. She can see all the Selected watching her, and wonders if they are as nervous as she is. She finishes her last bite of waffle and rises from her chair. All the conversation stops immediately as she walks to the end of one of the tables to address her suitors.

“Hi everyone, I’m so excited to meet you all” she says, hoping her voice isn’t shaking too much. “I’m just going to spend a few minutes talking to each of you to get to know you all, and since there are a lot of you we will likely be here for a while, so feel free to keep eating and chat amongst yourselves in the meantime. As well, I’m not the best with names, so it may take me a while to remember them.” With that, she holds out her arm to the girl closest to her, who gladly accepts it, and they walk to a corner of the room where couches have been set up for them to talk.

“What’s your name?” Clarke asks the girl, a pretty blonde with hair similar to her own.

“I’m Bree, your highness. I’m from the province of Ton DC, and I’m a model! I can’t believe I’m here, and I must say that you are even more gorgeous in person” Bree says in a flirty manner.

Clarke asks Bree a few more questions about herself, trying to establish any kind of connection. Bree responds in a one-sentence answers, and spends the rest of the time complimenting Clarke. At the end of their time, Clarke politely suggests that they do a photoshoot together sometime. Bree nods excitedly and curtsies, and sends the next person over. 

All of the meetings blur together after a while, but there are a few definite standouts. Lexa, whom Clarke remembers from her gorgeous contestant photo where she manages to look fierce and vulnerable at the same time, and Finn, who is so incredibly charming that Clarke knows he is going to be a favourite among the people of Arkadia. Finally, Bellamy walks over to her, and she doesn’t bother trying to hide her bright smile.

“Hello, princess”. He bows slightly and takes the seat next to her.

“It’s lovely to meet you…I’m sorry, could you remind me of your name?” she jokes.

“Bellamy, Your Highness” he grins. “So, other than meeting 30 people whom you could potentially marry, how has your morning been?”

“You know I’m supposed to be the one asking the questions, Sir Bellamy”.

“Well what can I say, I like to deviate from the norm, and this ensures that you will remember me” he responds with a devilish grin.

“Trust me, even if we hadn’t met last night, I’m certain I would remember you” she says quietly. “What were you doing at the stables anyway? Seeing if you could meet up with your sister?”

“Pretty much, I’m not much of a horse person so that’s the only reason I go there. I’m a little bit scared of them” he admits.

“Actually?!” Clarke is shocked by his admission, he doesn’t seem like the kind of guy who would be scared of anything, let alone horses. “Have you spent any time with them?”

“Not really, just whenever I had some spare time and my sister was bored when working and wanted some company. I’ve never ridden them” he replies.

“Well if you haven’t ridden them, you can't officially admit you're scared of them”. Clarke pauses for a moment, trying to work up the courage to say what she wanted. “In fact, I’d like to ask you to come riding with me on my first official date of the Selection”. 

Bellamy was surprised, she really wanted him to be her first date even though she hadn’t even met everyone yet? That had to mean something, right? “I’d be honoured” he smiled.

“Good.” Clarke rose from her seat. “It was lovely meeting you, Sir Bellamy, and I look forward to getting to know you better”.

“Likewise, princess”. He bowed, more deeply than at the beginning of their meeting, and walked off. 

There are only a few more people to meet after Bellamy, and she feels confident in her decision to ask him out on the first date. Sure, there are other people she knows she has chemistry with, but he had a certain charm that intrigued her. Clarke also knows she is expected to ask some people to leave today to establish that she can be decisive, but she decides to wait until dinner to do it. She turns to address the Selected, who are waiting their dismissal.

“It was lovely meeting all of you, and I look forward to getting to know you within the next few months. Now, I believe you have an orientation to life at the Palace, so you can all follow Lady Indra to the library. She will be in charge of instructing you in your time here and she will be giving me feedback, so I recommend staying on her good side.” Clarke pauses, knowing she has to say something to Bellamy, because if she doesn’t she will get questions about who her first date will be. “You are dismissed now, and Sir Bellamy, I will be in touch with you regarding the timing of our date”.

Everyone turns to look at Bellamy, who replies “I’m looking forward to it, Your Highness”. He notes the different reactions of people around the table- Jasper and Monty look excited for him, and Finn looks extremely pissed, but everyone else just seems annoyed that they weren’t chosen. Great, Bellamy thinks, now I've got a target on my back. He understands that Clarke had to make the date public knowledge, but he knows that the time between now and the date is going to be endless.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was born out of a headcanon that I have of Clarke teaching Bellamy how to ride, since Bellamy teaches Clarke how to drive the Rover offscreen at some point. I've also been riding for around 11 years, so I jump at basically any chance I have to write about horses. Hope you all enjoy!

Just as Bellamy anticipated, the palace orientation is the most awkward situation he’s ever been in. Jasper and Monty seem to be genuinely happy for him, and tease him excessively about whether or not he’s going to kiss Clarke. However, the others aren’t as happy. Not even five minutes into the Palace tour, Finn walks over to him with an irritated look on his face.

“So, you’ve got the first date”

“Yup, guess so” Bellamy responds dryly.

“You do realize that looks suspicious right? I mean, no one below a 4 has ever gotten the first date before, I checked” says Finn smugly. “A lot of the other Selected think it’s unfair that you're even here, because for all we know you’re in a secret relationship with her, and had the drawing rigged so you could actually be together”.

Bellamy rolls his shoulders back and looks down at Finn, who flinches slightly. He’s a few inches shorter than Bellamy, and Bellamy is pretty sure he’s all talk. “Well if the others don’t believe me, maybe they should talk to the Princess about it. I’m sure she would love to be accused of lying” he says, knowing that this will do the trick. 

At this point Finn looks absolutely terrified, and just nods in response- he doesn’t look like he could form a sentence even if he wanted too. Bellamy gives him one last glare and walks away. He knows this will only subdue Finn temporarily, but at least now he knows that Finn is easily intimidated.

Jasper subtly gives Bellamy a fist bump, and Monty mutters “good for you for putting that asshole in his place”. No one confronts Bellamy like Finn did for the rest of the tour, and Bellamy thinks that it’s probably partially due to Jasper discretely giving obscene hand gestures to anyone who tries to talk to him, which he’s grateful for. They do make another friend on the tour, a sweet girl named Harper who lives across the hall from Bellamy.

When Bellamy gets back to his room, he finds a fancy envelope addressed to him on his pillow. Eagerly, he opens it.  
If you’re still up for getting over your irrational fear of horses, I will meet you in your room at 4:00 this afternoon to escort you to the stables. The tailor will be coming to your room shortly before then to bring you proper riding attire. I’m looking forward to watching you make a fool of yourself.  
-Princess  
He chuckles at the note, especially how she just assumes he’s going to be bad at riding. So, Bellamy decides that he’s going to go out of his way to be a better rider than she could have ever imagined, just so he could tease her about the note. He’s got a feeling that she has a secret competitive streak, just like he does.

Waiting for 4:00 to arrive is painful. By the time the tailor arrives with his clothing, Bellamy is simultaneously more nervous and excited than he’s ever been in his life. He’s seen riding clothes before, but he wasn’t prepared for how tight they were going to be, especially the stiff leather boots that go up to his knees. They pinch his calves and he has a lot of trouble walking in them, which he supposes makes sense since they are meant for riding. Finally, at 3:59, the door knocks, and Bellamy nearly trips over himself running to the door to open it. 

“That’s a good look for you” Clarke says in lieu of greeting. Bellamy has to agree- the tight polo shirt accentuates his muscles.

“Same for you, Princess” he replies. It’s true, the riding pants, which the tailor told him were called jodhpurs which is the strangest word he’s ever heard, cling to Clarke’s every curve, and he knows he’s going to have trouble not spending the entire time checking her out.

“Shall we?” She offers him her arm, which he gladly accepts, and they stride down the hall together, the heels of their boots echoing off the marble floors. Most of the Selected on his floor come to their doors to watch them leave together. Finn scowls at Bellamy, who brazenly winks at him in return. Once they are out the front doors, Clarke looks at him and says “there will be photographers present for the first part, but I’ll send them away once we’re off riding.”

“Don’t want everyone to see you’re not as good a rider as you claim to be?” Bellamy jokes.

“No, I’m an excellent equestrian” she smirks. “I just mean we’ll only be alone for about half of our date, and I wanted to warn you ahead of time since your sister told me you were reluctant about entering the Selection because you’re a private person.” Her voice is apologetic, and Bellamy knows she’s being sincere.

Bellamy makes a mental note to thank Octavia for not telling Clarke the real reason he was reluctant, although not wanting publicity was definitely a factor too. “Half of the time alone is better than no time alone” he says gently. “The Selection is an event that basically every Arkadian follows, so I knew that meant our dates would be highly publicized. I’m willing to sacrifice my privacy for the chance to get to know you.” 

“That means a lot to me” Clarke blushes and gives his arm a gentle squeeze. They spend the rest of the walk to the stables in comfortable silence, wondering what would happen next.

When they reach the stables, Bellamy is glad to see that there are only a few photographers present. “I sent the majority of them away because the camera flashes could spook the horses” says the stable manager, a muscular man named Lincoln whom Bellamy remembers Octavia speaking fondly of. “Good to see you again, Your Highness, and it’s lovely to meet you, Sir Bellamy. Your horses are in the next aisle in cross-ties, and the grooming brushes and tack have been placed with them”.

“Wait, does that mean we’re getting them ready ourselves?” asks Bellamy.

“Of course! It’s not the full experience if you don’t tack them up” says Clarke. She introduces him to the horse he’ll be riding, whose name is Tarragon. He’s a reddish-brown colour that Clarke says the proper term for is chestnut, and looks over at Bellamy sleepily when Bellamy tentatively gives him a pat on the shoulder. Clarke’s horse is named Blueberry, and Bellamy isn’t sure why since Blue is mostly grey. They aren’t as scary as Bellamy thought, although he does freak out a bit when Blue stomps his hoof when Bellamy goes over to see him. 

Clarke shows him how to use the brushes, putting her hand lightly on top of his to show how to properly do the circular motion of the rubber currycomb and the quick flicks of the wrist for the stiff brush. He likes the feeling of her hand on top of his so much that he pretends not to know how to properly use the soft brush, even though it’s just running the brush over the horse’s body. She rolls her eyes at his request but complies, both of them blushing slightly when their hands touch. Bellamy swears that he sees Blue glaring at him whenever he and Clarke touch, but he doesn’t mention it to Clarke since it’s such an absurd thought.

Putting on the tack proves to be more difficult than Bellamy thought, since he imagined the saddles to look like the ones in the old-timey Western movies he and Octavia like to watch. This results in him trying to put the saddle on backwards since he thinks the higher up part goes at the front of the horse, and Clarke doubles over laughing when she sees.

“We’re riding English, and English saddles don’t have the horn at the front like Western saddles do” Clarke explains. “The slopped part, which is called the cantle, faces the back”. Bellamy nods, slightly embarrassed by his mistake, knowing that the photographers would have definitely gotten a picture of it.

After the saddle fiasco Bellamy asks Clarke to do the bridle, since he knows he would probably end up taking it apart completely (and he’s grossed out by having to put the bit in the horse’s mouth). Once their horses are ready, Clarke leads him to an enlarged step stool to show Bellamy how to get on. He manages to do so without kicking Tarragon in the back when swinging his leg over, which he’s proud of. 

“You want to keep your heels down and toes up, and loop the reins in between your thumb and index finger, then across your palm and between your ring finger and pinkie” Clarke tells him. “Big squeeze with your heels to go forward, and pull back gently on the reins to stop- but with Tarragon you’ll definitely need to encourage him more to go forward, he’ll be more than happy to stop!” 

She gracefully mounts onto Blue, and moves him next to Tarragon so the photographers can take their final round of pictures. For the last few, Clarke reaches over and takes Bellamy’s hand, and the photographers capture the moment right after of them smiling at each other.

“Okay, it’s time to go” Clarke says excitedly. “Are you nervous, Bellamy?”

“A bit” he admits. “But a lot less so now”.

“Good” she smiles. “Give him a big squeeze with your heels, and let’s get going.”

He nods, and pushes his heels into Tarragon’s sides. The horse begrudgingly starts walking, and Blue matches his lazy stride. “Care to tell me where we’re going?”

“Nope! Just follow where I go and you’ll see when we get there” Clarke teases him. She can see him relaxing the farther away they get from the Palace, and she feels it too. “So now that we have no one around to hear us, what do you want to talk about?”

“Anything, everything, I have no idea” Bellamy says. “I don’t know anything about you except what is released to the public, and you don’t know anything about me except what was on the application”

“Then I guess we should start with the basics. Hmm…what's your favourite colour?” Clarke asks jokingly.

“Blue. And you?” He tries not to look at her as he says it, because he truthfully he didn’t have a favourite colour until he saw her for the first time yesterday, and was immediately entranced by her eyes.

“Same. Favourite colour and favourite horse” she replies, smiling down at the gelding, who keeps trying to grab mouthfuls of grass every few seconds. “You're 22, right?”

“Yup, turning 23 in a few weeks, so I barely made the cut-off.”

“We’ll have to do something to celebrate then” Clarke states excitedly. 

“You think I’ll still be around then?”

“I did ask you out on the first date and I’m having a good time, so I think there’s a pretty solid chance”. She smiles shyly at him, and Bellamy’s heart skips a beat. 

“That’s good to know”. On impulse, he drops his reins and squeezes her shoulder for a millisecond before picking up his reins again, terrified that Tarragon would choose that moment to take off on him. Clarke laughs at his clear panic, and they spend the rest of their walk to Clarke’s mysterious destination learning about each other. Bellamy discovers that Clarke has a passion for art, and when she finds out that Bellamy loves ancient history they spend a while debating whether the Greek or Roman versions of the Gods were cooler. 

Finally, Clarke brings Blue to a halt and dismounts. Bellamy does the same, trying not to groan when his legs touch the ground- he’s definitely going to be sore tomorrow. Clarke removes Blue and Tarragon’s bridles, replacing them with the halters and lead ropes kept in the small saddlebags, and loosely ties them to a couple of wooden posts so they can graze. While she’s doing that, Bellamy takes in his surroundings. They’re in a gorgeous hidden pasture, with a small pond, and wildflowers and lush grass everywhere he looks. It’s something out of a fairy tale. 

Clarke speaks, interrupting his thoughts. “This is my secret sanctuary; I've never shown it to anyone before. Every time I get overwhelmed or just need some time to myself, I bring Blue here, and relax for a few hours. I thought you might enjoy it too”.

“I do, I love it, and it means a lot to me that you’ve shown it to me” Bellamy says quietly. They lie down on the grass, looking up at the sky, and Bellamy can barely believe this is actually happening. Clarke breaks the silence a few minutes later.

“Can I ask you something personal?”

“Go for it” he replies, unsure of what she’s going to ask. 

“I know there’s a lot of inequality in Arkadia, especially towards the lower castes, so growing up as a 6…did you feel resentment towards me?”

Bellamy thinks carefully about what he says next. “Honestly yes, my mother had to turn to prostitution to keep Octavia and I fed, and after she died it was rough for a few years. Living here made it worse, since we were able to see just how much better the lives of the highest castes were on a daily basis. But, after meeting you, I’ve got the feeling you don’t take it for granted like I thought you would.”

She nods in agreement, her face solemn. “I appreciate your honesty, that can’t have been easy. And, one of my goals as Queen is to try and decrease the inequality of the caste system, so a major quality I’m looking for in my spouse is someone who cares about that issue as well.”

“Good to know” he smiles. 

“I hate to say it, but we should be heading back soon. I need to make the first round of eliminations around dinner” Clarke says reluctantly. “I’m not looking forward to it.”

“Think of it this way- if they care about you, then they’ll respect your decision that they aren’t a right fit for you, even if it hurts them” Bellamy states matter-of-factly. 

“I never thought of it that way” Clarke muses. “Thanks for the advice, Bellamy”.

“My pleasure, Princess. I’ll have to keep it in mind if you eliminate me tonight” he says jokingly.

“Don’t worry, you’re not going anywhere anytime soon” she says softly, looking deep into his eyes. She places a hand on his cheek, and leaning in slowly she gently presses her lips onto his. The kiss only lasts for a moment, but it’s everything Bellamy could’ve hoped for. When they break apart, they smile at each other, until Clarke says “Okay we really have to go now” with a laugh. 

“If you insist” Bellamy says, a little bit grumpy they have to leave. 

“Come on, if you stall any further we’re going to have to gallop the whole way back, and I don’t think you're up for that yet” she challenges him.

“Try me”. 

Before they enter the stables, Clarke leans over and gives Bellamy a peck on the cheek. 

“Thank you for a lovely afternoon, I really enjoyed your company.”

“I did too, and thanks for showing me that horses aren’t as scary as I thought they were” he laughs.

They walk holding hands back the Palace, thinking separately about how the Selection just got a lot more complicated.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I meant to have a new chapter ready yesterday, but it was a long weekend in Canada so I was pretty busy with friend/family stuff! This is kind of a filler chapter so it's a bit shorter, and I'm aiming to have the next one posted before the finale tomorrow (which I am not mentally prepared for). Hope you all enjoy!

Clarke’s giddy mood after her date with Bellamy lasts about five minutes before reality sinks in, and she knows she has to prepare for the first round of eliminations. She already knows who she wants to eliminate, but she has no idea how to do so. Eventually, she decides to send notes to them requesting their presence in a meeting before dinner. That way, if they get overly emotional, they won’t be embarrassed in front of everyone that is staying. She writes the notes, double-checking names from their profiles, and gets a maid to deliver them. With a sigh, she collapses onto her bed, deciding to spent the next half hour napping and mentally preparing for the evening. Suddenly, Raven comes barging in.

“So how was your first date?” she asks with a sly smile.

“It was really great, but how did you know about it? I haven’t seen you since yesterday”

“Please, the whole palace knows. Most of the Selected were going back and forth between each other’s rooms the entire time, speculating about how it was going. A lot of them seemed to be pretty annoyed he got the first date, given that he’s a 6 and all.”

“Well since he’s part of the Selection he’s a 3 now, and anyone who judges people based on their caste isn’t someone I want to marry” Clarke frowns.

“Fair enough. Anyways did you guys make out?” Raven says bluntly.

“No, we only kissed once, no tongue involved.”

“Damn you’re boring” laughs Raven. “But on a more serious note, you're eliminating some people tonight right?”

“Yup, in about 20 minutes.”

“Good luck with that”. Raven gives her a supportive hug. “I should get back to work; do you want to give me a run-down of what’s happened so far tomorrow?”

“That would be great, I’ll send a guard for you when I have some spare time.”

“Sounds good.” She leaves the room, and Clarke is left alone with her thoughts.

A guard comes to escort Clarke to a small living room, where she requested to meet all the people she planned on eliminating. She looked around at them, they all looked so hopeful. Clarke took a seat, and swallowed. This was going to be difficult.

“Hello everyone, thank you for meeting me. It saddens me to say that in our initial meeting I did not feel a connection with any of you, and I would not want to keep any of you here when I don’t see a future. Thank you for coming to the Palace and meeting me, and I wish you well in the future.”

Every single one of them looks shocked, and Clarke grimaces, hoping she wasn’t too harsh. She can see Bree start to tear up, and Clarke doesn’t know what to do. Slowly, the dismissed Selected leave the room, and Clarke’s guard beckons her forward.

“Your Highness, it’s time for dinner.”

Clarke nods, and walks into the dining hall, where her parents and the rest of the Selected are already seated. She can see them start to figure out what has happened when the waiters come around and clear seven spots from the table.

Bellamy can see that Clarke is upset over the dismissals. It doesn’t surprise him; he knew that she didn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings. 

“7 people gone just like that……damn” mumbles Jasper through a mouthful of chicken. 

“I know, it’s crazy” replies Monty. They look over to Bellamy for his reaction.

“She kind of told me it was happening on our date” admits Bellamy. 

“Oooooooo right, your date” teases Jasper. “How was that, by the way? No one’s seen you since you left for it”.

“That was deliberate since I wanted to delay discussing it with everyone, and it was really nice. We went riding and there are definitely going to be some embarrassing photos of me attempting to saddle the horse in the magazines” Bellamy laughs.

“So we’re the first to hear about it? I’m honoured” jokes Jasper. 

“Yup, because I trust you guys not to turn it into a passive aggressive interrogation, unlike some people here”. Bellamy looks pointedly at Finn, who glares at him in return. 

“We can keep him away from you” pips up Harper. “I know we didn’t all come here to make friends per say, but we may as well have friends if we’re all going to be here for a while.” 

Bellamy smiles at them. He’s never really had a close group of friends before, and it’s a good feeling. Sure enough, when some angry looking girls try to confront him as he’s leaving dinner, Harper distracts them by complimenting their hair and makeup. And when he’s almost back at his room and Finn attempts to corner him, Lexa, whom Bellamy hasn’t had a chance to talk to yet, asks Finn if wants to go check out the tennis courts. Bellamy mouths “thank you” at her, and gets a small smile from her in return.

Later that night, Clarke is at the desk in her room reading over a financial report when her mother enters. 

“How are you doing, sweetheart?” Abby gives her daughter a hug, and they go to sit down on a couch. 

“I’m not sure” admits Clarke. “My date with Bellamy was amazing, but then right after it I had to send seven people home, and now I have to figure out how to arrange dates with the 22 people I've only spoken to once. And I have no idea how I’m going to fall in love with even one person if I barely spend any time with them.” She says this all in a rush, desperate to get out all the emotions that have been driving her crazy for the past few hours. 

“I know what you’re feeling” replies Abby. “I was extremely overwhelmed in my Selection too. I’d recommend making a schedule of dates for the first few weeks to get to know everyone, and then when the pool has been narrowed a bit, you can make the dates more spontaneous.”

“But how do I narrow it down? What if I develop feelings for all of them?” Clarke asks, desperate for any advice.

“Then you keep spending time with them to find the person you have the strongest connection with. As well, and I’ve been meaning to talk to you about this, sometimes people leave on their own. You know the mayor of Polis, Anya?”

“Yes?” Clarke isn’t sure where her mother is going with this. 

“She and her wife were both contestants in my Selection, and they developed feelings for each other. Once they realized it, they came to me and asked permission to leave. Obviously I let them, I wasn’t about to keep two people who were in love away from each other. As you know, I’m still good friends with both of them. The Selection is a strange experience because you go into it looking for a spouse, and you leave with not just that, but with lifelong friendships too. My Selection came down to your father and Marcus Kane.”

“What?!” Clarke is absolutely shocked. She knows her father, mother and Kane were close friends, she never would’ve guessed that once upon a time her father and Kane were competing for her mother.

“Yes. He understood that I was more in love with your father, and as time passed a friendship grew between the two of us. I guess what I’m trying to say is that if the people you dismiss truly care about you, they’ll respect your decision. It may be too painful for them to be friends with you, it doesn’t always work out like it did with Kane and I, but don’t pass up on the opportunity to gain friends out of this experience as well.”

Clarke nods in agreement. “Bellamy said the same thing, about respecting my decision if they care about me.” 

“He seems like a good young man” smiles Abby. “Any idea who you’re going to bring on your next date?”

Thinking about it for a moment, Clarke replies “I think Lexa. She mentioned that she really likes old movies so I was thinking of showing her the cinema.”

“Sounds like a good idea” says Abby. “You won’t be able to tailor every date to the person’s interests, but if you can for the first one it’s always a good idea, so you’ll always have a conversation topic. She glances at her watch. “I need to get going, but I’m glad I got to talk to you. If you ever need advice, you can always ask me.”

“Thanks Mom, I love you.” She gives Abby a hug, and attempts to get back to studying the boring financial report. Instead, she grabs a piece of paper, and makes a schedule of dates for the next few days. Sure, planning out dates doesn’t exactly scream romance, but it does give her a chance to get to know everyone.

Later that evening, Bellamy is lying on his bed reading with Miller enters. 

“Your sister is in the lobby; she’s requested to see you.”

Bellamy leaps up, and goes as quickly as he can down the spiraling staircase. Octavia’s face lights up when she sees him. They hug each other, and walk out into the gardens to talk.

“I hear you got the first date?” Octavia grins at him.

“I did, and I’m assuming you know all about it.”

“Yup, including the backwards saddle part” she laughs. “Everyone at the stable said you guys were really cute when you were getting ready, and that Clarke was the happiest they’d ever seen her. That’s a really good sign Bell, Clarke’s always happy when she’s at the barn, but it sounds like being around you brought her happiness to a whole new level.”

“I did have a good time” Bellamy admits. “She’s really great and I like her, but I know I’m not going to get to spend time alone with her for a while, since she has to balance the other 22 Selected.”

“I’m sure you could figure something out, you don’t just have to go on dates with her” replies Octavia. “And since you just admitted that you like her, can I say you owe me for entering you into the Selection?”

“I’ll make you a deal- if miraculously at the end of this I end up marrying Clarke, I will somehow manage to work that you were the reason I met her into my wedding vows. Sound good?”

Octavia nods. “I need to head back and start my chores, but it was nice to see you. Keep doing whatever you’re doing, and I’ll end up being royalty” she laughs.

“Wait is that why you entered me? You want to be a member of the royal family?” Bellamy jokes.

“Nope, I entered you because like I said before, you’re the King this country needs, and because Clarke was interested in meeting you. Being royalty would just be a bonus.” She gives him one last hug and walks off.

Bellamy sits on the bench for a few more minutes, thinking about what Octavia said. Even a few days ago he couldn’t have imagined liking the princess enough to consider marrying her, and now it’s all he’s thought about since he kissed her. He hears other people coming into the garden, and decides to head back to his room. It’s been a long day.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm glad I waited until after the finale to finish this because I got major inspiration from it, you'll be able to tell where. The next update won't be for a couple days since I'm going away and won't have wifi access, so have a good weekend, and feel free to let out all your angst/theories about the finale in the comment section!

“I remember mentioning that you like old movies, so I thought we could watch one today?” Clarke asks Lexa, as they walk arm in arm towards the Palace’s movie theatre.

“That sounds good” Lexa replies. “Which movies do you have?”

“We have a lot of movies, both my dad and I are huge cinema fans! I really like the ones from the 20th century, I think The Wizard of Oz is my all-time favourite. After I saw it for the first time all I wanted was my own pair of ruby slippers. I got them for my 8th birthday, and ended up wearing them so much the soles broke” Clarke laughs. “I went through five pairs, and I still have them all in my room.”

With a smile, Lexa replies “I remember seeing you wearing them on the Report and being really jealous. Every girl in my grade wanted to have them.”

“Wow, I didn’t realize I was such a trendsetter” Clarke jokes.

“You were in more ways than one…being so open about your bisexuality on the Report helped me to realize that I am a lesbian. You’ve helped normalize the conversation about sexuality, and as a result myself and so many young people feel more comfortable in their own skin. I don’t think you realize how influential you are.”

Clarke is touched; she’d seen magazine articles praising her, but it was completely different hearing it in person. “I’m glad I could help.” She smiles at Lexa, and Lexa smiles back squeezing her hand.

Their attempts to make popcorn fail miserably, since they get caught up in a conversation about politics, which Clarke learns Lexa is passionate about, and they completely burn the first batch. However, Clarke feels that having to deal with the pungent smell of burnt popcorn for the rest of the afternoon is worth it, since Lexa’s interest in politics definitely makes her a front runner.

While they are setting up the movie, Lexa curiously asks “Do you know if we are going to be hosting any foreign countries while we are here? If it’s sensitive information you don’t have to tell me, I’ll understand.”

“I’m actually not sure” admits Clarke. “I think it’s likely since the Selection will go on for at least a couple of months. If there is, they’d give us a couple of weeks of notice, and you guys would probably be involved in some way. It’s a good test to see who would be fit to represent Arkadia.”

“Oh absolutely, since you're not just looking for a romantic partner, you’re looking for someone to rule the country with” agrees Lexa. 

The movie starts, and they share a bag of slightly over oiled popcorn, smiling shyly at each other whenever their fingers brush. After the movie ends, Clarke leans in and tentatively kisses her. She tastes of popcorn and the strawberry-flavoured lip balm Clarke had seen her applying throughout the movie. It’s a good kiss, and once Clarke is back alone in her room, she leans back onto the wall with a sigh. The optimistic side of her wishes all her dates could be as perfect as the one’s she’s had with Bellamy and Lexa, but the realist in her knows that if that happened, her heart would be broken by the end of the Selection through having to choose.

The rest of Clarke’s week goes by in a blur as she attempts to spend one-on-one time with almost every one of the Selected. She plays tennis with Finn, who is just as charismatic as she remembers from her first meeting. It’s fun and easy with him, he spends the whole time trying to make her smile. Some of her other memorable dates are trying archery with Jasper, who almost shoots himself in the foot by accident, and bowling with Harper, which ends with them trying to throw the bowling ball and knock down pins in the lanes next to them. Three more members of the Selected leave- a girl named Fox is too homesick to stay, and she didn’t feel any compatibility with the other two after going on a date with them. 

It’s Thursday, the night before the Selected’s first appearance on the Report, when she gets to spend time with Bellamy alone again. It happens by accident- she stumbles upon him reading in the library late Thursday night, when she comes to find something to read that will relax her racing mind. He’s sitting upright on a stiff, leather chair, engrossed in his book. Clarke doesn’t want to interrupt him, so she goes over and lightly places a hand on his shoulder.

He looks up, and his face lightens up. “Hey! What are you doing here?”

“Couldn’t sleep, and I find that reading always helps. What are you reading?”

“A book on Greek mythology” he states excitedly. “I’m obsessed with ancient myths and history, but I’ve always been drawn to the Greeks. They fascinate me.”

“Is that why your sister’s name is Octavia?” Clarke asks laughing.

He raises both of his hands in the air jokingly. “Guilty. Mom let me name her, and I had just finished reading a book about the emperor Augustus, who had a sister named Octavia, so the name was fresh in my mind.”

“It seems like the two of you are really close” Clarke says softly, sitting down next to him.

“We are”. He smiles at her. “So anyway, can I give you any recommendations?”

“Whichever you think has the best information on Greek mythology is.” 

“That would be my brain, but since neither of us have time for me to recite all the myths I know, I’ll grab you the second-best thing” he jokes, walking over to the stacks. He returns with a thick book with green binding, and illustrations from various myths on the cover.

“Thank you” says Clarke, flipping through the pages. “And since we both have some time now, why don’t you tell me your favourite myth?”

Bellamy has to think for a moment. “Well some of my favourites are Atlas, who was a Titan forced to hold up the sky, and of course all the trials of Hercules are epic, but I’ve always really liked the Odyssey. Odysseus and his men were sailing back to their home of Ithaca after the fall of Troy, and it ended up taking them 10 years to get home. While he was trying to get home, his wife and Queen, Penelope, had to ward off suitors to wanted to marry her, since everyone believed Odysseus had been killed. But she never gave up hope, and Odysseus overcame every obstacle in his way, to come home to Penelope” 

“How come that’s one of your favourites?” Clarke asks tentatively.

“Because Penelope never stopped believing Odysseus would come back to her, and knowing Penelope was waiting for him gave Odysseus the strength to keep going.”

“That’s beautiful” says Clarke, awestruck. “I can't imagine being separated from the person I love for that long, not knowing if they were alive or not.”

“Well, if it ever did happen, what do you think you would do?” asks Bellamy curiously.

“I’d keep hoping.” 

“Me too.” Clarke and Bellamy look at each other, seeing a level of vulnerability neither of them had encountered before. Bellamy moves closer to Clarke, and she rests his head on his shoulder. They sit there unmoving for a few minutes, before Clarke reluctantly realizes that she should get going. Bellamy senses it, and stands up, offering her his hand which she accepts.

“You ready for your first Report tomorrow?” asks Clarke.

“Not even remotely, I’m terrified” confesses Bellamy. “Am I going to have to talk a lot?”

“It’ll just be a few basic questions, and not all the contestants will be asked them. But since you were my first date I can guarantee that Kane is going to want to talk to you.”

Bellamy groans, and Clarke shushes him since they’re in the hallway surrounded by the bedrooms of the Selected, which makes them both stifle giggles.

“You’ll be just fine, I promise.” They’ve reached his room, and Clarke stands on her toes to give him a peck on the cheek. “If I don’t see you before the Report tomorrow, good luck. Just be yourself, and you’ll charm the whole country just like you’ve charmed me.” 

With that, she turns around and walks back to her room, and Bellamy places a hand on his cheek where her lips where, feeling the sensation even after she left.

Her confidence in him wavers slightly the next evening when he sits on the bleachers ten minutes before the Report airs, already feeling like he has sweated through his suit. He looks around at all the cameras pointed towards them and gulps.

“These ties are so uncomfortable”. Jasper sits down next to Bellamy, tugging at his collar. “Why do they have to be done up so tightly? I don’t understand.”

“Me neither” groans Monty. “But at least we don’t have to wear corsets. I walked past Roma’s room as her maids were doing hers up. It took all three of them, and I’d be surprised if she can walk and breathe properly they did it up so tightly.”

They all turn to look at Roma, who, sure enough, is taking baby steps towards the bleachers. Jasper laughs, which earns him a glare from her. 

“Do you guys think you’ll be asked questions?” asks Harper, sliding in behind them.

“I doubt I will since our date was cut short due to my negligence of archery safety, but I’m sure Bellamy will” says Jasper, clapping Bellamy on the back. “I heard you guys coming back to your room late last night. Did you get another date?”

“No, we just ran into each other in the library, I swear”. Judging by their Cheshire cat-like grins none of them believe him.

“Suuuuuure” says Monty with a wink. 

Indra rushes in, waving her hands to signal them to be quiet. The camera men start counting down from ten, and King Jake steps up to the podium as the Report begins.

“Good evening Arkadia. I’ll keep my segment short, since I know you’re all dying to know about the group of young men and women gathered behind me” starts King Jake. He speaks for a few minutes about crop production and a slight raise in taxes to fund the repair of roads, and finally walks away, giving Kane the spotlight.

“Well Arkadians, for the past week these lovely young people have been getting to know our Princess, but now it’s your turn to get to know them. So, without further ado, let’s meet our 20 remaining members of the Selected! Finn Collins, would you like to start us off?”

Finn smugly walks over to sit down in the chair opposite Kane. That cocky asshole, Bellamy thinks. It looks like the audience is buying into his boy-next-door façade, but Bellamy knows it’s only a matter of time before Clarke realizes who he truly is. He hopes it’s sooner rather than later, of course.

The rest of the interviews blur together until he hears Kane say “Bellamy Blake, you’re up!”

Shakily, Bellamy walks down the stairs and sits next to Kane, whose overwhelming scent of cologne shocks Bellamy back into reality.

“So, Bellamy, what’s it like living in the Palace itself when you’ve lived on the grounds for most of your life?”

Bellamy thinks about Clarke’s advice. “It’s really different. All these years living here and I never thought I’d be able to go inside, and now it’s like a whole different world. I’m glad I’ve been given the opportunity.”

“And it sounds like you’re killing it so far, since you got the first date! I think we’ve all seen the pictures!” Bellamy laughs along with the audience. As he predicted, the picture of him putting the saddle on backwards was the cover of every gossip magazine in Arkadia. He wasn’t as embarrassed as he thought he would be, since Clarke told him later he looked cute in the picture.

“Not my smartest moment, but it was really nice.”

“Just nice? Any more details?” Kane raises his eyebrows good-naturedly at him.

“I got over my fear of horses and spent the afternoon with an amazing girl who also happens to be the Princess, so it was very nice.” Bellamy smiles smugly at him, that’s as much information as he’s giving.

“Well it certainly seemed like it was a good date. I have one more question for you- a lot of what I’ve discussed with the other contestants is about how the Selection is more than just our Princess finding a spouse, it’s also about her finding someone to rule Arkadia alongside her. If you were to win the Selection, which title do you think you’d find more nervous about getting, Husband or King?”

Bellamy pauses to think for a moment. He’s pretty sure no one else has been asked this question, and he can see everyone in the audience waiting for his response. “I think husband, because there would be lots of other people to help me rule the country, but only I could work on being a good husband for the princess. I’ve only known her for a week, but I can already tell that if she chooses me, I’m going to devote my life to being the best I could be, since she deserves only the best.”

He hears sighs in the audience, and when he looks over to Clarke, it looks like she’s tearing up a bit.

“Thank you, Sir Bellamy, that was such a heartfelt answer. Princess Clarke is lucky to have you as a member of the Selection” Kane says.

Bellamy thinks of a good reply, but decides he only wants Clarke to hear it, so he shakes Kane’s hand and goes back to sit on the bleachers. 

Kane interviews a few more Selected, bids farewell to Arkadia after reminding them to tune in next week, and the producer yells “cut”. Bellamy works his way through the swarm of people heading for the dining room for a light snack, and finally reaches Clarke. She takes his arm and pulls them away to an empty corridor, and places her hands on his shoulders, looking him deep in the eyes.

“That was…wow. I don’t know what to say” she confesses.

“In a good way, I hope?” jokes Bellamy, trying to cover up how nervous he is for her reaction.

“Of course. I think that was the nicest thing anyone has ever said about me.”

Bellamy smiles, deciding to save his speech on how Kane got it backwards and he’s the luckier one to be able to meet Clarke for a time when they’re truly alone. So, he gives her a hug, and they walk off to the dining room, both still on an adrenaline rush over what he said on the Report.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It took longer than I thought for me to update and this chapter is shorter, so I apologize for that, but I will be posting at least two longer chapters later this week to make up for it! And to any of my American readers, hope you guys had a nice long weekend :)

Clarke woke up the next morning to a weight near her feet at the end of the bed. She groggily sat up and rubbed her eyes, and to her delight she saw one of her best friends, Wells. Squealing with excitement, she crawled over to him and gave him a giant hug.

“I thought you weren’t coming back for another week!” she exclaims happily.

“Change of plans, the negotiations went a lot more smoothly than we thought, so we came back early” he replies. 

Wells was the son of Thelonious Jaha, the head of Foreign Affairs. Since Wells had grown up in the palace, the two of them were really close, and when Clarke met Raven she joined their little group too. Clarke is pretty sure Wells and Raven secretly like each other, but she’s never been able to get either one of them to admit it. 

“Will you be joining us for brunch?” Clarke asks. Saturday brunch at the Palace was one of her favourite times of the week, since it meant she got to sleep in, and there was always an abundance of food.

“I’d love to, but I think some of your suitors may see me as a threat” he teases lightheartedly.

“Well that would be a way to weed out the overly jealous ones” Clarke laughs. “I have to get changed, I’ll meet you down there.” They hug again, and he walks out. 

Less than a minute later Raven comes barging into her room, screaming “Wells is back!”

“I know; he just woke me up” Clarke replies to her overly enthusiastic friend.

“Damn, does that boy have a death wish? I learned the hard way ages ago that I should never wake you up before 9:30 on a Saturday unless it’s an urgent matter.”

“So since you're here I’m assuming that Wells being back was the urgent matter?”

“Nah, I ran into him on the way here. The urgent matter is what your ridiculously hot first date said on the Report last night.”

Clarke smiles as she recalls it. She knew Bellamy had a way with words, but she never imagined that he’d say something so eloquent about her on live TV after knowing her for only a week.

“I talked to him briefly about it after, but I really didn’t know what to say” admits Clarke. “I mean, there are very few people who think that the title of spouse is more terrifying than all the power that comes with a Royal title.”

“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about” says Raven, her voice turning gentle suddenly. “I can tell you really like him, so I need you to promise me you won't freak out and overthink it. You always overthink it when things are going well, so you need to accept that you’ve already found a guy who has the potential to win the Selection a week in. But, at the same time, you can't dwell on it, since there are still 19 other people you need to get to be open to falling for as well.” 

Clarke gives her a confused look, and Raven continues “I know that’s really contradictory since I basically just told you to accept Bellamy’s feelings and at the same time push them aside to focus on everyone else, but it’s what you need to do. Just…try to have a balance of listening to your head and your heart, okay?” She wraps her arm around Clarke’s shoulders, and Clarke gratefully leans into her.

“Okay, I can do that. But I have to say, I expected that the Selection would end in me settling for someone who fulfills most of my criteria. I didn’t expect to have found people who exceed it within just a week.” She groans, and puts her head in her hands.

“You can always send some over to me to lighten the load” jokes Raven, trying to cheer her up. 

Clarke gives her a weak smile in response. They chat on her bed for a while, and Clarke fills her in on the rest of her dates. It’s the first time they’ve had to talk since the Selection started, and both girls are grateful for it. She decides she needs the time with her friends more than the delectable brunch food, so she feigns an illness and sends for food for her, Raven and Wells to eat in her room. For a couple of hours, it’s just like old times- sitting on Clarke’s floor trying not to spill syrup on the immaculate carpets, exchanging stories and laughing about whatever ridiculous events have occurred. When Abby comes by to reluctantly tell them they all have to get dressed and get to work, Clarke hugs them both tightly, grateful for the two constants in her ever-changing life.

While Clarke is upstairs with her friends, the Selected are enjoying their brunch. Bellamy was slightly upset when King Jake announced that the princess would be eating in her room this morning since he was going to recommend a new mythology book he’d discovered in the library last night to her, but he figured he could find her later that day. 

“This is the best food I’ve ever had in my life” mumbles Jasper around a mouthful of waffles, his eyes practically rolling back into his head with happiness. 

“I know, I’m going to have gained so much weight by the time I leave here” pips up Maya, who’d befriended them earlier in the week.

“I don’t think that’s possible, but you’d still be gorgeous” says Jasper. 

He and Maya share a smile, and Bellamy glances across the table at Monty, who looks as shocked as Bellamy. An awkward silence follows, as both Jasper and Maya process what he just said. 

“How about we go for some sort of workout after brunch? I think we have the morning free” suggests Harper, trying to break the ice.

“Sounds good to me. Who’s up for mini golf?” The five of them turn to look at John Murphy, who’d clearly been eavesdropping on their conversation. “What, I’m not good enough for the clique?” he asks sarcastically.

“We’re not a clique, and I think that’d be fun” says Bellamy. “As long as you promise no Selection-related drama.”

“I’m no drama king, don’t worry Blake” replies Murphy with a smirk. “I’ll meet you at the course in an hour”. With that, he pushes his chair back and leaves, since they didn’t have to wait to be dismissed at brunch.

“Well that was strange” declares Monty.

“He’s actually a nice guy, just really sarcastic” notes Jasper. “What do you say, gang? Should we add him to our exclusive clique?”

“Oh, why not” laughs Harper. “Although we probably should start spending more time with the rest of the Selected, since we have kind of been sticking to ourselves.”

“I guess we have been kind of judgemental in thinking who would be overdramatic” admits Monty. “Should we make this mini golf game an open invitation, or do you think Murphy would get upset about it?”

“I’d say we make it known that we’re going, and other people can decide if they want to show up or not” says Bellamy. “Sound good?”

Everyone nods, slightly reluctantly, since they know that more people is more likely to end up in the dramatic confrontations they’ve been trying so hard to avoid.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I somehow managed to finish this chapter today!

“What sort of clothes do I wear for mini golf?” Bellamy asks Miller as he goes through his closet.

“Mini golf?” Miller raises an eyebrow. “Is it a date? Because if so, Princess Clarke must be running out of ideas.”

“No, it’s not a date, we have the morning free and someone suggested a game of mini golf, and we ended up inviting all of the Selected to join if they want to” Bellamy sighs. “I’m not looking forward to it, there are still a ton of them who are waaaaay too competitive, and here for the wrong reasons in my opinion.”

“The wrong reasons?” Miller looks at him questioningly.

“Some of them can't seem to distinguish between the princess and the crown on her head. I just hope she will be able to figure out who they are before it’s too late” replies Bellamy.

“Well I’ve known Clarke a while, and most of the time she’s a good judge of character” says Miller, pulling a polo shirt and some tan shorts out of the closet. “Try these on, I think they should do. Is there any chance she’s going to join you guys?”

“I guess so, if she’s feeling better. King Jake said she was ill.”

“Between you and me, whenever she says she’s sick at brunch it usually means she’s skipping it to eat with her friends in her room” Miller replies with a wink. “And her Saturday morning meetings usually don’t take too long, so if she hears about the game I think she’ll probably show up.”

“Great”, groans Bellamy, “Another situation where everyone is going to make a fool out of themselves trying to get her attention.”

“They don’t all have your natural chemistry with her” states Miller simply. “Have a good afternoon, I’ll see you later. Oh, and try not to glare at Collins every time he looks at Clarke. It’s getting less subtle.” 

Miller leaves the room before Bellamy has time to come up with a clever reply, but he reluctantly realizes that Miller is right- he has been glaring at Finn a lot lately. Shaking his head to clear his mind of all thoughts of the long haired asshole, Bellamy walks down the hall to knock on Jasper’s door. 

“You almost ready?” he asks.

“Yup, all good to go!”

Jasper opens up the door, to reveal an absolutely ridiculous golfing outfit. He’s dressed head to toe in green and yellow plaid, complete with a matching hat and socks. 

“Why are you wearing that?!” Bellamy is barely able to get the words out he is laughing so hard.

“Because it’s the most ridiculous thing ever, and this is probably my only chance to wear it” replies Jasper with a cheeky grin. “Besides, it’ll distract everyone so much they won’t be able to make a decent shot and I’ll win.”

“Makes sense I guess” says Bellamy, still chuckling. “Come on, we need to meet the others.”

When they reach the mini golf course, almost everyone else is already there. As Bellamy expected, Jasper’s outfit throws them all into hysterics. Monty has to sit down he’s laughing so hard, and even Murphy is smiling in genuine amusement.

“What’s all the commotion?” 

They all turn around to see Finn and a couple of the ruder girls glaring at them. 

“Geez, Jordan, are you colour blind or something? You really think Princess Clarke will be attracted to you wearing that?” Finn snorts.

“At least I’m making an effort to look ridiculous, unlike you who it clearly comes naturally to” replies Jasper smoothly.

Finn tries to say something, but fails. He turns on his heel and stalks off to get his equipment, Roma and Echo following him.

“That was the greatest thing I’ve ever seen” Monty beams. “C’mon gang, let’s suit up.”

Mini golf turns out to be harder than Bellamy thought. He keeps hitting the ball too hard, and has accidentally thrown his club a few times already. Thankfully, everyone else seems to be struggling as well, so he isn’t alone. While attempting to hit the ball from behind a bridge, he sees the Selected run towards the start of the course. That can only mean one thing, he thinks. Sure enough, when he walks over to the first hole, Clarke is there, already surrounded by the rest of the Selected. 

Clarke had been on her way out of a boring meeting about creating a resolution to increase guard numbers when she’d run into Raven.

“Are you going mini golfing?” her friend had asked her.

“I wasn’t planning on it, why?”

“All of the Selected are there. I have no idea why, but they’ve been there for about half an hour. If you hurry up and get changed you could join them, turn it into an unofficial giant group date.”

Clarke considers it for a moment, she hasn’t spent any time with all of the Selected yet. It sounds like it could be fun, so she dashes off to get changed. Ten minutes later, she’s walking onto the course, and the Selected are swarming around her. She hugs all of them, and attempts to make small talk in a group. She sees Bellamy walking over, and she smiles and politely excuses herself to go say hi to him.

“So whose idea was this?” she asks him, giving him a quick hug.

“Murphy’s, surprisingly enough. It was originally going to be a small group of us but we figured we should invite everyone else, because apparently we’re being too cliquey.”

Clarke laughs, since she has noticed that there have been groups forming among the Selected.

“Well I’m glad you’re trying to make friends. Also everyone is staring at us, so I think we should go back over.”

Bellamy rolls his eyes, but agrees, and they head back over to the group.

“This is so lovely, I’m glad to see you all spending time together” Clarke says excitedly. “I don’t want to interrupt the game, so I’m going to tee off now. At the end of the course, I’ve arranged for there to be a picnic, and the person with the highest scores gets the next date with me, and they get to choose what we do! Good luck everyone.” 

She walks off to get a club, and the Selected stand around, murmuring in excitement. 

“No need to thank me for my brilliant idea” calls out Murphy, earning laughs from everyone (although Bellamy thinks it’s most likely for Clarke’s benefit.) 

They return to the course, everyone trying harder than they had before now that they have the incentive of a date with Clarke. She sends for Raven and Wells to join her, so that she can have fun mini golfing without one of the Selected trying to talk to her every few minutes. When everyone has finished the course, the scores are calculated and Harper ends up winning. Bellamy, Monty, Jasper and Maya cheer loudly when it is announced, since Harper hasn’t had a date with Clarke yet.

“Congratulations, Harper!” Clarke says, giving her a big hug. “Do you have any idea what you would like our date to be?”

Harper thinks about it for a moment, and replies “Can we go actual golfing?” 

“Of course, that sounds like lots of fun! We can send for some proper golfing attire if you want.”

“Okay, as long as it doesn’t look like Jasper’s outfit” Harper responds with a grin.

Jasper throws his hands up in mock surrender, and everyone laughs and starts to enjoy the refreshments. Bellamy is enjoying his very first popsicle ever when he sees someone walk over and stand next to him out of the corner of his eye.

“I can see why Clarke hasn’t arranged any giant group dates” says Lexa, surveying the crowd. “It looks really overwhelming for her.” Sure enough, Finn, Roma and Echo are all competing with each other for Clarke’s attention, and she’s starting to look a bit frazzled.

“Especially with those three” Bellamy grunts. “They’re only friends when they’re ganging up on the rest of us, and as soon as Clarke appears they don’t hesitate to fight with each other.”

“That’s actually what I wanted to talk to you about.” He looks over at her, confused. “I think it’s pretty clear after your speech on the Report yesterday that she has feelings for you, and according to all the gossip magazines you’re one of the front runners, alongside me. I don’t want for this to turn into a huge competition between the two of us, since I don’t think that’s fair to Clarke, and you also seem like a genuinely good guy. What I’m proposing is if we hear something we think Clarke needs to know about, like one of the contestants admitting they only want the crown, we let her know together, since she’s more likely to listen if it’s coming from both of us.”

Bellamy thinks about it for a moment, and responds “Okay, I’m in. Is this just the two of us?”

“I think it’s for the best, since we shouldn’t make it seem like we’re trying to influence her decision too much. Also, I know you can't stand Finn, but you shouldn’t let that be known to her just yet- she might think you're jealous.”

“Well obviously I am, it’s kind of hard not to be jealous when the girl you like is dating 19 other people. I also know she’s too good for him” he says exasperated. Lexa nods in agreement. She truly does want his help, since she can tell he has genuine feelings for Clarke, unlike some other members of the Selected. 

“So it’s agreed- we keep an eye and ear out for any of them proving they shouldn’t be here, and we let Clarke know when the time is right.” Lexa sticks out her hand, and Bellamy shakes it. She walks off, leaving Bellamy to wonder what just happened. He figures that besides him, Lexa was the most likely candidate to win at this point, and he’s glad that he has someone who will back him up if he needs to tell Clarke about Finn’s true colours. 

Despite practically having her ear talked off, Clarke has had a pleasant morning mini golfing. It’s given her a chance to talk to some of the Selected she hasn’t had dates with yet, and it’s interesting to see them interact with each other in an informal setting. She glances to her side and sees Lexa and Bellamy talking, and based on the looks on their faces it’s a serious conversation. She wonders what it could be about, but Raven appears beside her to give her yet another popsicle and she quickly forgets about it. It’s such a nice day, and she’s glad to be outside relaxing. Of course, her relaxation doesn’t last long, and two guards come rushing over.

“Princess Clarke, your parents have requested your presence immediately.” 

Clarke rolls her eyes, and says “I’m very sorry, but I’m going to have to leave now. I had a great time with you all, and I’ll see you at dinner.” With that, she turns to follow the guards, wondering what she has to deal with now.

She stops by her room to quickly change, and heads over to the council room, where everyone else is already seated.

“What’s going on?” she asks, panting slightly from having to run over in heels. 

“Azgeda has changed their minds, they want to come visit us to sign the environmental conservation treaty instead of us going to visit them. They’re intrigued by the Selection, and so the entire Royal Court, including Prince Roan, will be coming next week. Since they’re coming to see the Selection in action, we were thinking that you could forgo dates until then, and instead they could spend their time helping to organize the welcome banquet. It would be a good task to keep them all busy, and also a way for you to make come cuts” explains Jake. “Does that sound like a plan?”

Clarke is surprised, but she responds “I think that’s a good idea.” Jake and Abby talk more about the logistics of the treaty and how Indra should prepare the Selected for Azgeda’s visit, but all Clarke can think about is how awkward it’s going to be to see Prince Roan again.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was originally going to introduce Roan in this chapter but decided the story would flow better if he comes in the next chapter, he is coming I swear!

“Any idea what’s going on?” Harper asks Bellamy.

He shakes his head. “No idea.” 

Monty had been teaching Bellamy and Jasper to play poker in Bellamy’s room when Miller had come by, and told them they were to go to the Selected’s lounge at once. Now, they were all sitting around the room, murmuring, trying to figure out why they had been summoned. After a few minutes, Clarke entered, followed by Queen Abby.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I have some exciting news” announces Queen Abby. “In a week’s time the court of Azgeda will be coming to visit, and all of you will be helping to plan the reception and dinner!”

All of the Selected are visibly shocked, knowing how difficult this was going to be. 

“Lady Indra will be splitting you into groups, and your lessons on Azgeda traditions and culture will be starting right away. And, as I can assume most of you have just figured out, how well the reception is planned will be helping Princess Clarke make her decision on the next round of cuts. Is there anything you would like to add, darling?” Abby turns to her daughter.

Clarke thinks about it for a moment. “Yes, during the next week I will not be having very many dates so you all can focus on your lessons, and I can get caught up on some work myself. I will not be asking anyone else to leave within this week, not counting extreme circumstances of course, and the morning after the reception is when I am going to announce who will be going home. Good luck to you all, and have fun.” She leaves the room with her mother.

“Everyone start walking to the library” barks out Lady Indra. “I have arranged for the books on the history of Azgeda to be reserved, and all of you will choose a book at random, and you have the rest of the afternoon to read and write a short summary of the book. How well you do on your summaries will determine which task you will have to plan, since naturally some of them are easier than others. And I don’t want to hear any complaints, whichever one of you is the future member of the Royal Family will have to get used to quickly absorbing information and writing summaries.” 

Bellamy hurries out of the lounge with Monty and Jasper, since he knows the authors who write the best books on country history. The three of them are the first to arrive.

“Which ones should we take?” asks Jasper, looking around the library in awe.

“This one is good” replies Bellamy, “and Monty you can have this one, they’re pretty similar.”

“Thanks man” says Monty, clapping him on the back. 

The rest of the Selected walks into the library, and takes books at random. Finn, Roma and Echo arrive last, and are stuck with the longest books, to Bellamy’s amusement. Since Bellamy has read the book he took for himself before, he’s able to re-read and write a two-page summary on it within an hour.

“Lady Indra, I've finished the assignment.”

He walks over to where she is sitting, a thick stack of papers on the table next to her. She reads it, and to his surprise, she smiles.

“Very good, Sir Bellamy, especially considering how quickly you wrote it.”

“I've read it before” he admits. “I’m very interested in history.”

“That’s good to know” replies Lady Indra. “I’m going to make you one of the Selected representatives who will have dinner with the Azgeda court and our Royal Family. It’s a difficult task since you need to have a strong knowledge of Azgeda table manners and customs, but I think you’re up for it. You can consult the package on Azgeda that I’m giving all of the Selected, but you’ll need to do some further research as well”

“Thank you Lady Indra, that is an honour” says Bellamy, flattered at the amount of trust she has in him. “I’ll get started right away.” He picks up the package, and walks through the library to the countries section. Once he finds the Azgeda section, he grabs the first book on Azgeda culture he sees, sits down, and immediately starts reading.

He’s pulled out of his trance when he feels a small tap on his shoulder. Looking up, he sees Harper smiling down at him.

“I just spoke to Lady Indra, and I’m going to be the other Selected representative” Harper says excitedly.

“That’s awesome” replies Bellamy. He’s not surprised Lady Indra chose Harper, she’s easily the sweetest girl in the Selected. “I’m a little nervous, it’s a big responsibility” he admits to her quietly.

“I am too, but I think if we work together we should be able to pull it off. What have you learned so far?”

Bellamy gives her a run-down of what he’s read, and they spend the next half an hour skimming through books they think might be helpful. When they’ve made their final choices, they head up to Bellamy’s room to get to work.  
________________________________________________________________________  
“So do you think I should tell them?” Clarke nervously asks Raven. 

“I think that would be a good idea” replies her friend. “Prince Roan does seem to enjoy putting people in uncomfortable situations, so I wouldn’t put it past him to casually talk to Bellamy and Harper about how he could’ve married you.”

Clarke was glad when she found out that Bellamy was going to be one of the Selected representatives chosen to dine with Azgeda, but quickly realized that Bellamy, along with the rest of the country, had no idea that Clarke had almost asked not to have a Selection and marry Prince Roan because she was too afraid that she wouldn’t meet anyone she could see herself marrying. Now, her problem was the opposite since she had at least a crush on quite a few of the Selected, but she didn’t know how they would react to finding out about Roan.

“Okay, I’ll go find them.” 

“They’re working together in Bellamy’s room” says Raven. “We should go now before they have to start getting ready for dinner.”

“Good idea.” Clarke and Raven walk in silence, and when they get to Bellamy’s room, the door is open. Raven gives her an encouraging smile as she walks off, and Clarke enters and closes the door.

“Your Highness” gasps Harper, surprised. 

Bellamy looks up, and sure enough Clarke is standing there. He smiles at her, and she gives her a tight smile in return.

“Since the two of you are going to be spending the most time with the Azgeda court, especially Prince Roan, there’s something I’d like to be the one to tell you. I was almost engaged to Prince Roan, because for a few weeks I was too scared to hold a Selection. We came very close to announcing it publicly before I changed my mind, and the people of Arkadia and Azgeda were never told. I wanted to tell you both now because Prince Roan will probably mention it at some point, not because he’s bitter, but because he likes messing with people, for lack of a better term.” Clarke holds her breath, waiting for their reactions. 

“I appreciate you telling us in advance, and I don’t blame you for being reluctant to invite 30 strangers to your house, and having to choose one of them to marry” says Harper. She looks over at Bellamy, who hasn’t reacted yet, and decides he should speak to Clarke in private. “Now if you’ll excuse me, Princess Clarke, I should go get ready for dinner.” 

Clarke sits down next to Bellamy. “Are you mad at me?” she asks quietly.

“God, princess, of course not” he replies. “I’m a little surprised, obviously, since your Selection was basically all the whole country talked about in the year leading up to your 18th birthday, but I’m not mad. I’m glad you chose to not settle for what you knew, and decided to take a leap into the unknown.”

She smiles, and replies “I’m glad too, and I know you’ll do an excellent job. Just don’t argue with Roan too much, I have a feeling you two are either going to absolutely detest each other or you’re going to have some weird bromance”.

Bellamy laughs at the idea of him being “bros” with the Ice Prince, as he’s known throughout Arkadia, because of his non-existent sense of humour. “I’ll be on my best behaviour, don’t worry.”

“Good.” Clarke gives him a quick kiss on the cheek, and says “I have to head back to my room now, I’ll see you at dinner.” She walks out, and misses seeing Bellamy place his hand where she kissed him, and smiling brighter than the sun.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Had some writer's block with this chapter, but I'm happy with how it turned out- hope you all enjoy :)

Bellamy takes a deep breath, and double checks his reflection in the mirror to make sure he looks pristine. The day that the royal party from Azgeda arrives is finally here, and, as he has been told time and time again over the past week, he has to be perfect. Even though he and Harper aren’t officially allowed to represent the nation of Arkadia, everyone is counting on them to do a good job representing the Selected. Azgeda has expressed its dislike for the Selection in the past, and it is up to Bellamy and Harper to prove that it is an important Arkadian tradition.

“You ready to go?” 

Harper appears at his doorway, dressed in a maroon dress and blue blazer, the official colours of the nation of Azgeda.

“As ready as I’ll ever be” Bellamy sighs. The shade of blue in his tie is so unbecoming that he’s pretty sure whoever chose the Azgeda colours was colourblind. “This is going to be a long day.”

“I know, but we’ve prepared for it, and Lady Indra and the royal family have faith that we are up to it” replies Harper reassuringly. “Besides, at least we got something fun to do, unlike the people stuck with choosing tablecloths.”

Bellamy snorts. For some reason, Azgeda takes their table decorating very seriously, and the people who had to choose the tablecloths spent the entire week completely stressed out. Murphy was one of them, and he added to the stress by making sarcastic remarks instead of helping. They’d only finalized their decision the night before, and had celebrated by burning all the cloth swatches.

“That’s true, although I wouldn’t have minded being on the wine tasting committee. Monty and Jasper pretending to hate all the choices so they got to sample more wines was pure genius” Bellamy says.

“I know, and when they told the wine guy they were going with one of the wines they had tried on the first day he nearly threw a fit” laughs Harper. 

After the stress of the week, Bellamy thinks about how good it feels to laugh again. He and Harper had spent all their time learning everything they could about Azgeda, and preparing answers to every possible question they could be asked about their duties as a member of the Selection. They were even exempted from appearing on the Report because their task was so much more difficult. Bellamy is a bit upset he’s barely seen Clarke, but she will be at the same table as him tonight, so hopefully he’ll have a moment to talk to her.

“Shall we head off to the reception from Hell?” 

“I mean I guess we have to” Harper replies with a smirk. 

They’ve gotten a lot closer over the week, and Bellamy is glad, since it’s nice to have a female friend who isn’t his potential wife. Harper hadn’t had her date with Clarke yet because of the Azgeda visit, but Clarke had scheduled it for Monday morning, and Harper had excitedly told Bellamy when she’d found out. If Bellamy didn’t end up winning, Harper is one of the people he hopes Clarke will pick.

When they arrive at the garden where the welcoming reception is being held, it was complete chaos. The Selected who had planned aspects of the reception were running around making sure everything was in place, there were photographers everywhere, and there had clearly been a mix up about which guards were supposed to be on duty because there were at least 30 of them running around and trying to figure out what was going on.

“At least they haven’t started serving alcohol yet, otherwise it would be a lot worse” deadpans Bellamy. 

“Oh definitely, I’m glad one of our requirements is staying relatively sober, because we get to watch everyone else make fools of themselves at dinner” jokes Harper, surveying the scene.

The blare of trumpets announcing the Azgeda Royal Family’s arrival immediately shuts everyone up. As the Selected representatives, Bellamy and Harper will be greeting them along with the Arkadian Royal Family, so they quickly walk over to the end of the driveway to take their places.

Clarke looks absolutely beautiful, somehow managing to pull off that horrid shade of blue, Bellamy observes. He and Harper stand slightly behind the Royal Family as instructed, and Clarke looks over her shoulder to give them an encouraging smile and thumbs-up as the stretch limo pulls up in front of them. The chauffeur walks around to open the door, and Queen Nia, Prince Roan and Princess Ontari emerge.

“Welcome back to Arkadia” says King Jake warmly, stepping over to kiss Queen Nia on both cheeks, as that is the custom Azgeda greeting.

“It is lovely to see you again, King Jake”, Queen Nia says with a smile. She is stunning, but Bellamy knows that her smile hides the fact that she is a strong, fierce woman, who took over Azgeda when her husband, the King, died from a heart attack. 

After Queen Abby and Clarke greet the Royal Family, it is Bellamy and Harper’s turn.

“Greetings, Your Majesty and Your Highnesses. I am Bellamy Blake and this is Harper McIntyre, and we are the Selected representatives who will be dining with you this evening. If you have any questions about the process of the Selection, please ask us. We want to show Azgeda that even though the Selection may seem like just a dating game, it is a serious process where a citizen of Arkadia is elevated to Royal status, which brings a different perspective to the Royal Family. It’s a pleasure to meet you all.” Bellamy hopes he doesn’t sound too nervous as he says the lines he’s rehearsed numerous times as he bows, and out of the corner of his eye he can see Harper curtsy. 

“It’s a pleasure to meet you too, Sir Bellamy and Lady Harper” Prince Roan replies, taking Bellamy’s hand in a firm handshake. “Princess Clarke is a lovely woman, so I’m glad to see she has at least two worthy suitors!”

Everyone laughs politely at Prince Roan’s joke, but Bellamy is unsure if he’s being serious or not.

“Prince Roan, I can assure you that I have many suitors who would be fit to rule alongside me, but these two are among the best contenders, which is why they have been chosen to interact with you and your family” says Clarke smoothly, slipping her arms into Bellamy’s and Harper’s. “But, I will also be making eliminations based on the Selected’s conduct at the reception and dinner, so if you see anyone behaving inappropriately, please let me know.”

“Of course, Your Highness” smiles Prince Roan. 

“Now that introductions have been made, I think it’s time we go to the reception the Selected have helped organize” says Queen Abby. 

She and King Jake lead the way, speaking with Queen Nia as they walk. Princess Ontari was speaking to Clarke, and Harper walked over to join them, leaving Bellamy to walk with Prince Roan .

“How are you enjoying living in the palace as opposed to on the palace grounds?” asks Prince Roan.

Bellamy is shocked than Prince Roan knows who he is. “It’s a huge change, but I’m getting used to it. If Princess Clarke sends me home, it’ll definitely be weird.”

“From what I’ve heard, that’s a big if” replies Prince Roan casually. He changes the subject immediately after, but Bellamy can’t help but wonder what he means by it. By the time dinner arrives, he’s dying to ask him.

“Whoever chose the tablecloths did a fine job, this lace was my grandfather’s favourite” Princess Ontari tells Lady Indra, who nods and scribbles in her notebook. 

“That’s good to know, the tablecloth committee had a difficult time deciding” replies Harper.

“I would too, all the options are so lovely” sighs Princess Ontari. 

Bellamy and Harper exchange a look, knowing that one of the reasons they had trouble was because, in Murphy’s words, they all looked like “something Satan’s grandmother would wear to a wedding”. Bellamy isn’t sure how Murphy came up with that image, but the way he said it made everybody within the vicinity break down into laughter. 

“So, Sir Bellamy, my son mentioned to me that you had the first date.” 

Bellamy blinks, surprised that Queen Nia is addressing him directly, and replies “that is correct, we went riding and I got over my fear of horses, which I see now was irrational.” 

“Nice to hear you admit it” pips up Clarke, making Bellamy grin. 

“I was really happy he got the first date” says Harper. “Sir Bellamy, Sir Jasper, Sir Monty, Lady Maya and I have become good friends, and even though we are all dating Princess Clarke we are rooting for each other in a way, because I know that any of them would be good for Princess Clarke and for the country.”

“It is certainly an unconventional situation, but I’m glad to see that a few of you are sane and know that Princess Clarke will be making the choice, and wanting what is best for her” compliments Queen Nia. 

Prince Roan leans back in his chair, and Bellamy can tell from his smirk that whatever he says next is going to be problematic.

“I too am glad to see that you have such fine choices, Princess Clarke, especially since you were reluctant to have a Selection in the first place” says Prince Roan. “Now that it has been going on for two weeks, have you been able to picture yourself spending the rest of your life with any of them yet?” 

Clarke gulps, and looks down at her plate. She figured Roan was going to bring up her feelings for the Selected at some point, but didn’t think he’d phrase it like that. 

“I mean, I have to think about it for all of them, because if I don’t feel a connection, then I can't marry them” Clarke says vaguely, trying to avoid having to give a real answer. 

“So you’re saying you're going to enter into a polyamorous marriage with 20 partners?” Roan raises an eyebrow.

“Somehow I think that 21 people trying to rule the country together wouldn’t end well” Clarke jokes.

“Come on Princess Clarke, I think everyone at this table is waiting for a real answer.” Clarke realizes Roan is right, everyone is looking at her, and Bellamy is watching her the most intensity.

“Yes” she finally admits. 

“With how many?” presses Roan.

“Just a few, but that’s only because I’ve spent the most amount of time with them. Once I’ve gotten to know the rest of the contestants better, I’ll be able to give you a clearer idea.” She stares him down, telling him with her eyes that she isn’t going to answer any more questions about it.

“I’m looking forward to your letter about it already” he replies drily.

Everyone sits at the table in awkward silence until the waiters arrive with the wine, and Clarke gratefully gulps hers down. She’s going to need alcohol in order to survive this meal, and she pities Bellamy and Harper for not being allowed to drink more than a glass.

When desert arrives, Bellamy is ready to go to bed. The meal has already been going on for three hours, and he’s uncomfortably sober in a room full of people becoming steadily more drunk. Thankfully, there haven’t been any more conversations as awkward as the one between Prince Roan and Clarke at the beginning of the meal, but there was definitely some tension when Queen Nia brought up the caste system, and stated that she didn’t think it was necessary. King Jake and Queen Abby had explained quietly that they weren’t huge fans of it either, but it had been in place since Arkadia’s founding 97 years ago, and abolishing it would be difficult, since it could cause the diehard caste supporters to riot. Bellamy was glad to hear that the royal family was at least aware of the problems the caste system caused, and that they wanted to try and change it. 

As Bellamy is eating his chocolate cake, he hears Prince Roan say “there’s a book in the Arkadia library that we don’t have in Azgeda that I’ve been wanting to read for a while, and I was hoping I could borrow Sir Bellamy to help me find it, since it’s about mythology.”

Bellamy nearly chokes on his cake, but manages to say “of course, Your Highness.”

Prince Roan stands up, and says “lead the way, Sir Bellamy.”

They walk to the library and small talk about the reception, but Bellamy knows that Prince Roan wants to talk about something else.

“Okay, what’s the name of the book?” asks Bellamy, walking over to the mythology section.

“Just grab one any random one” Prince Roan laughs. “I’m assuming you know that I made up an excuse to speak with you alone.”

“I kind of figured.” Bellamy crosses his arms and looks up at the prince.

“You’re a good guy, Bellamy, and from what I’ve heard and seen you have a damned good chance at winning this thing. You and Clarke go well together, and you’d be good for the country, since I have a feeling you could be the guy to finally take down this oppressive caste system. So, if there’s anything I can do to help you win the Selection, you have my support. I’ll give you my address and phone number, and we can say we’re in contact to talk about our favourite mythology books. But, since I’m doing a huge favour for you, I’d like something in return.”

“Okay, what is it?”

“Clarke has a friend, Raven, and she is in training to be Clarke’s lady-in-waiting. I’d like to become acquainted with her, and I’d like you to convince Clarke to get Raven to give me her contact information.”

Bellamy almost laughs, the tough guy Prince Roan is too chicken to talk to the girl he likes? But since Roan is doing him a huge favour, he replies “okay, I can do that.”

“Pleasure doing business with you, Sir Bellamy. Or I guess I should say, future Prince”. Prince Roan walks off and Bellamy grabs a mythology book at random from the shelf and hurries after him.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going to be without wifi for a few days, so I won't be posting the next chapter until Saturday or Sunday, depending on how busy my weekend is. Enjoy :)

Brunch was pushed back until noon the next morning, because the majority of the palace was hungover. Since Bellamy hadn’t had much to drink, he was awake at 9, and by the time everyone had staggered into the dining room he was annoyed and hungry (which wasn’t a good combination). He pushed his way to the front of the buffet line, and all the other Selected were too dead to get mad at him. He sat down at the table with his friends.

“Looks like you guys had a fun night” Bellamy observes cheekily.

“Shut up and pass me the coffee” is Jasper’s response.

After dinner there was an impromptu party thrown in the Selected lounge, and somehow they had managed to get their hands on some alcohol that was stronger than the wine they had at dinner. Once the vodka, Prince Roan and Princess Ontari arrived, things got out of control pretty quickly. Bellamy had left early to go to bed, but since he was woken up in the middle of the night to a giant crashing sound he’s pretty sure a chandelier was destroyed. 

“How are you all doing?” 

Bellamy and the others turn around to see Clarke grinning at them. 

“Shhhh stop screaming” moans Maya, resting her head on Jasper’s shoulder, which he seems to enjoy.

“That seems about right. Bellamy, can I speak to you for a moment?” Clarke asks.

“Sure” he replies, a bit confused. 

She holds out her arm and escorts him to a couch just outside of the dining hall.

“I noticed you slipped away early from the party last night, and I was wondering if everything is okay” Clarke says, looking genuinely concerned.

“I’m just not a loud party kind of guy, that’s all. Plus, the whole day was so stressful that it exhausted me and I just wanted to get to bed.”

It’s not entirely a lie, it’s just not the whole truth. Bellamy doesn’t like parties, but he was also trying to avoid Prince Roan since he was afraid Prince Roan would talk to him about their deal in front of everyone, since Clarke had told him that drunk Roan had no filter. He doesn’t think Clarke would have a problem with it since it’s not like he would use it to cheat, but the other contestants might not react well to the crown prince of Azgeda favouring him. 

“Well you didn’t miss much, just some awkward alcohol-induced flirting between some of the contestants and Roma trying to prove she could swing from the chandelier like some old music video she saw. Needless to say, she failed the acting normally under alcohol test and will be going home today.” 

“Wait, you were the one who supplied the vodka?”

“Guilty” says Clarke with a wink. “I needed to see how everyone would act while drunk, and while we’ve all done stupid things, a line has to be drawn somewhere. We can’t have the King or Queen of Arkadia swinging from chandeliers or attempting to strip in the presence of foreign dignitaries.”

“Fair enough” laughs Bellamy. “So how many people are going home?”

“Five, so there will be fifteen left.” She bites her lip nervously. “That’s half of what I started with, and we’re only two weeks in. Do you think I’m being too harsh?”

“Of course not.” Bellamy holds onto her shoulders, and looks at her softly. “All of the reasons have been perfectly acceptable, and the reality is all of us but one is going to be going home. If you have a reason to cut someone, you should do it. It will make your life easier, and allow you to form connections with the people you actually like.” 

“Thanks Bellamy” Clarke sniffs, wrapping her arms around him tightly. “I needed that.”

“Anytime princess” he chuckles. “It sucked not being able to spend time with you last week.”

“I know, it was weird for me too. But I’m to try and go out with everyone at least once before the Report next Friday, because Kane wants to have longer interviews with you all now that the group is a lot smaller. A few of them are going to have to be group dates, which has the potential to be a disaster.” 

“Am I going to have a group date?” Bellamy asks.

“No, I like having you to myself” Clarke responds, playfully punching him in the shoulder.

“The feeling’s mutual, princess” he says quietly.

Clarke opens her mouth to say something, but is cut off by Lady Indra calling her name.

“Princess Clarke, we need you in the dining room to announce the cuts. And Sir Bellamy, I saw Sir Jasper and Sir Monty eating all the food from what I presume is your plate, so you should head back too.”

Bellamy groans, but walks back, Clarke by his side. Indra watches them closely. She’s not surprised that Bellamy is the top contender among the high-ranking royal officials, especially after his excellent job with the Azgeda court last night. King Jake has even expressed an interest in spending some time getting to know him once the Selection is down to the Elite. Bellamy also doesn’t make her life hell like some of the other contestants, whom she secretly hopes Princess Clarke will send home today. Indra hears the chatter in the dining room stop, and enters the room.

“Good morning everyone, I hope you all had a pleasant day. The reception and the dinner went very well, and the Azgeda court sends their thanks to you all for giving up your time to plan it. Unfortunately, now is the time that I have to announce who will be going home. Sir Atom, Sir Dax, Lady Roma, Lady Echo and Sir John Mbege, you are no longer a part of the Selection. You may take a moment to say goodbye to everyone, and after that please go to your rooms to pack up your stuff. Everyone else, I will be having at least one date with each of you before Friday, and since I have limited time some of them will be group dates. I haven’t finalized the details yet, but when I do your maids or butlers will deliver the information to you. Enjoy your brunch.”

Clarke sits down at her seat, glad that her announcement is done. Roma is so hungover that she was asleep during it, and a couple of guards are currently carrying her out of the room. The others don’t look too surprised, based on their faces they probably remember what they did last night and figured this was coming. Finn is the only one who looks upset, and Clarke guesses it’s because Roma and Echo were his closest friends. Finishing her brunch quickly she goes upstairs for the signing of the environmental conservation treaty, and to say goodbye to the Azgeda royal family.

The official signing only takes a few minutes since Azgeda had already agreed to all of the terms, which strikes Clarke as odd since it’s a long way to travel to sign something that could have been mailed to them. The photographers set up a backdrop behind the table to take the official state visit photos.

“Princess Clarke, please come over to take a few photos with Prince Roan” the head photographer yells across the room.

Clarke sighs and walks over.

“Please, don’t act so happy to be in my presence” Roan remarks sarcastically as she hooks her arm through his.

“I’m just tired” says Clarke, attempting to talk to him and smile for the camera at the same time.

“No, I think you feel awkward being around me because you accepted and then rejected my proposal. There’s no need, we both know that marriage would have been for business, not for romance, so you dodged a bullet for both of us. But, I’m honestly surprised you haven’t figured out the real reason my family flew all the way over here.”

“The Selection?” Clarke guesses.

“About time you figured it out. We wanted to make sure that our newest ally had at least a few suitable options for its next leader.”

“And what did you think?” Clarke is genuinely curious, since Roan is good at appearing to be neutral when interacting with people.

“I’m pretty sure you know the answer to that” he replies. 

The photographer calls out “okay, that’s good. Now, Princess Ontari with Princess Clarke.”

The rest of the photos take about an hour, and Clarke spends that time trying to figure out what Roan meant. Did he really think that some of the Selected were fit to rule after barely interacting with them? Sure, he spent more time with Bellamy and Harper, but it was mostly polite small talk. Then, it dawns on her. When the families are saying goodbye, she grabs his elbow and drags him aside.

“What did you talk to Bellamy about?” she hisses.

“Relax, we went to the library to get a mythology book, like I said.” He reaches into his jacket pocket and pulls out an old, tattered book with a worn cover. “Here it is, in case you needed physical evidence.” 

The book is definitely on mythology, and Clarke knows that Bellamy loves mythology, but she doubts that Roan is a history buff. She decides against questioning Roan about it more, since he’s never done anything to hurt her, and if Roan sees Bellamy as a viable candidate that’s good news for her.

“Okay, I’ll take your word for it” she says reluctantly.

“You don’t have to, but you have to trust that whatever we were talking about, it wasn’t bad” Roan replies seriously. “He’s a good guy, remember that. And it seems that he really cares about you.”

“He does, and I care about him too.”

“So….” Roan raises his eyebrows at her.

“So I could marry him, but I’m not certain yet, because there are other candidates I still need to get to know.”

“Fair enough, you’re lucky to have the opportunity to marry for love, might as well take your time and do it right” Roan winks. “Anyways, it looks like I have to leave now, but if you ever need to rant to someone that isn’t that pretty friend of yours, you have my number.” 

He gives her a pat on the shoulder and walks off to join his family. It’s not until he’s left and Clarke is back in the palace that she realizes she doesn’t know who the “pretty friend” he referenced was.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long, I had the story planned up to the last chapter and wasn't sure what to do after that, but I think I know now!

Later that afternoon Clarke attempts to stifle a yawn while in the middle of a tedious meeting with all of the heads of various departments. Since Wells was always shadowing his dad he was there too, and Clarke can see him trying not to laugh at her obvious boredom. Finally, Jake stands up to address them all, which means the meeting is ending soon.

“Okay everyone, last item on the agenda is Diana Sydney’s update on the caste tension situation.”

Clarke frowns, she’s never really liked Diana. In Clarke’s mind, the woman is too hungry for power. She knows her parents aren’t fond of her either, but Diane is the liaison between the palace and the lower castes and she is very popular among them, so getting rid of her would likely cause some problems.

“Starting the food distribution program for fives and below has increased work productivity by 40% since they are able to focus more now that they are well-fed, and it has also decreased food theft. However, the underlying issue of the inequality faced by the lower castes is obviously still deeply engrained into our society. If you all had thoroughly read my report, you’d see that the best course of action is immediately getting rid of the caste system.” 

She says this all in a sickeningly fake sweet tone, and Clarke can’t take it.

“Ms. Sydney, you do realize that getting rid of the caste system is something we want too, right? You’re making it seem like we’re all for it, when in reality we’re all on the same side. As well, if you had the security clearance that I do you’d see that getting rid of the caste system is a lot more difficult than it seems, and will probably take years.” 

Clarke smiles at her innocently. She hates playing the “I’m the Princess so I know more than you” card, but she’s had a long few days and Diana is on her last nerve.

Diana responds “Well maybe if I’d been born into the highest level of security clearance like you had, I’d have access to that information, but since your father refuses to let me know everything I’m just giving my professional opinion based on what I’m told.”

Wells pushes his chair back to confront her, earning him a glare from Theolonius.

“Alright, everyone calm down” says Jake urgently. “Like my daughter said, we’re on the same team. We all want the caste system dismantled but it has to be done right. Diana, Clarke is right, getting rid of it can’t just happened, we need to have a plan. I am in the editing process of a first draft right now, and I will hopefully be able to announce it to the public soon. So if we could act like adults, that would be lovely. Meeting adjourned.” 

He bangs the gavel forcefully, making everyone in the room flinch. Clarke can tell her parents aren’t happy with how she spoke to Diana, and they also probably want to ask her what Roan was talking to her about before he left. She isn’t ready to handle that, so she dashes out of the room. She takes the stairs as quickly as she can while still looking ladylike (obviously not something she cares about, but her mother does) up to her bedroom. Grabbing the first pair of jodhpurs and riding shirt she can find, she changes and goes down to the barn. Blue is groomed and tacked up in record time, and she gallops away from the barn, relishing in the cool breeze caressing her face and the sounds Blue’s hooves make as they tear up the grass.

When Clarke reaches her special spot, she dismounts and lies down as Blue grazes happily beside her.

“I have no idea what I’m doing” Clarke admits, stroking Blue’s soft muzzle. “I think Diana is planning something, but with no evidence I can’t accuse her, I would get in a lot of trouble. And the Selection is getting really serious, which is really scary, since I’m only 18 and I’m about to get engaged to someone I will have only dated polyamorously. What if I chose wrong? What if I already sent the person who was perfect for me home for some stupid reason?” She laughs quietly. “I know you can’t answer me, but right now I feel like you're the only one I can talk to without being judged. Plus you can't tell anyone.” 

Blue nickers in agreement, rubbing his head against hers. Clarke can feel herself relaxing; being around her horse never fails to brighten her mood. She sits there for a while longer contemplating, before realizing that she needs to head back. Even though she has been tempted to run away and never look back, she knows that she could never do it.

 

Bellamy lies down on his bed, engrossed in his novel when he hears a knock at his door. He walks over to open it, and to his surprise Octavia bounds in. 

“What are you doing here?!” he asks excitedly, wrapping her up in a hug.

“I haven’t seen you in a while so I figured I’d drop by. All the guards know I’m your sister now, so it was pretty easy to get in and come to your room.”

“How do they know you’re my sister?” 

Bellamy is confused, he and Octavia are technically only half-siblings so they look similar, but if you didn’t know them well you wouldn’t be able to tell they were related. 

“That’s also what I wanted to talk to you about” says Octavia, wringing her hands nervously. “You know Lincoln, the stable hand I’ve talked about? We’re kind of dating, and he’s friends with a lot of the guards. I know he’s a lot older than me, but he’s a really great guy. If you don’t believe me ask Clarke- she’s pretty close to him.”

“You know I’m always going to worry about you, it’s part of my job as your older brother” says Bellamy, taking both of Octavia’s hands. “But I guess you are almost 18 so you can make your own decisions, and having met Lincoln he is a good guy.” His face turns serious, and he says “Just let him know that if he does anything to hurt you, getting kicked by a horse will be a mild pain compared to what I’d do to him.”

“I’ll tell him those exact words” replies Octavia, giving her brother another hug. “Seriously though, if you’re still apprehensive, which I know you are, just ask Clarke. Speaking of Clarke, you seem to be doing pretty well” she smirks. “Getting chosen to be the Selected representative is a big deal, and the gossip going around the palace is you were amazing at it.”

“I mean, I guess I did a good job” admits Bellamy, not wanting to tell her about his talk with Roan. “It was a lot of hard work though, and I was petrified that I was going to mess it up.”

“I don’t blame you, it was an important task, and Queen Nia is pretty intimidating! But, you got through it, and now Clarke, her parents and the rest of the high-ranking officials have seen that you’d be a good diplomat. Obviously Clarke is making her decisions on her own, but she seems like the kind of girl to listen to her parent’s advice.”

Bellamy smiles at Octavia’s enthusiasm. 

“So are you excited because you think I may have found my future wife, or because your chances at becoming a Princess are looking up?”

“Both obviously!”

Bellamy laughs, and tells her all about the crazy planning all of the Selected had to do for the Azgeda visit, which Octavia finds highly entertaining. They are so engrossed in their conversation that they don’t notice Clarke standing at the doorframe.

“Your Highness!” Octavia exclaims, almost falling off of Bellamy’s bed. 

“Princess” Bellamy smiles at Clarke. “How long were you standing there for?”

“Only about a minute, I really didn’t want to interrupt. Should I come back later?”

“No, you’re welcome to come in” Bellamy says. “I was just telling Octavia about Azgeda’s weird tablecloth obsession.”

“Oh right, I’ve never fully understood that.”

Clarke closes the door and walks in, sitting next to Bellamy. Figuring that it would be awkward if they sat there like that he puts his arm around her, and Clarke smiles and rests her head on his shoulder. Clarke and Octavia start to chat, and Bellamy is surprised at how natural it all feels- Clarke and his sister talking like they’ve known each other for years, and how Clarke’s head fits perfectly on his shoulder. 

“Well, I have to start evening chores soon, so I should get going.”

Octavia stands up, and Bellamy reluctantly unwraps his arm from around Clarke so he can say goodbye to her.

“Come see me again when you have the time, okay? I miss you.”

“I miss you too, Bell.” Octavia gives him a huge hug, and walks off, giving him a sly wink as she closes the door behind her.

“She’s such a nice girl, you must be so proud of her.” 

Bellamy turns around to see Clarke smiling warmly at him. 

“I am, I practically raised her. Sometimes it feels like I’m a weird combination of her father and her brother” he admits. 

“I can tell.” Clarke walks over to him, and places her palms on his face. “The two of you have a very unique sibling relationship, but from what I’ve seen it’s really healthy. Not many men could have done what you did. You’re a special guy, and I’m lucky to know you.”

Bellamy is touched, and is about to tell her that he’s the lucky one, but before he can Clarke kisses him softly. Her thumbs gently stroke his cheeks, and Bellamy runs his hands through his hair. The kiss is over before he wants it to be, and he’s left wanting more. 

“I should go now, I kind of had a mini breakdown in a meeting this morning and I’ve been avoiding my parents all day because of it” Clarke says reluctantly.

“What happened?” Bellamy murmurs.

“I got mad at Diana Sydney for implying that she’s the only person in the palace who wants to get rid of the caste system.”

Bellamy frowns. “I remember her, she seems like a very manipulative woman. Be careful around her, okay?”

“I will, I promise.” Clarke adds “one more thing, I spoke to Roan before he left this morning and he mentioned that the two of you had a conversation about something in the library. If you don’t want to tell me you what it was about you don’t have to, I trust that if it was an important matter you would have told me already.”

“That’s the problem, I don’t know if it was important enough for me to tell you.”

Bellamy runs his hands through his hair, suddenly stressed.

“Was it about the Selection?” Clarke asks.

“Yes, it was.”

“Well, it was clear to me that he liked you more than the other contestants, so am I correct in assuming that it had something to do with that?”

“Yes, you are.”

Clarke frowns, not knowing how to phrase what she wanted to say to Bellamy.

“That’s what I figured. The thing with Roan is he does like causing drama, but if he likes a person, he always shows it. Getting the approval of the Azgeda Prince will definitely make you a top contender among my parents and the other diplomats, but we just need to tread lightly with how we portray it to the public. We don’t want to make it seem like if I chose you, it’s only because having you as a King would be useful with strengthening our relationship with Azgeda. If you want, we won’t tell anyone about Roan approving of you, even though it would boost your popularity.”

“I think that’s for the best” says Bellamy. “Besides, I don’t care about the popularity, the only opinion that matters to me is yours.”

“Then I guess you’re lucky I really like you” Clarke grins. “Now I really have to go. I probably won’t be at dinner, but I’ll see you at breakfast tomorrow.”

“Sounds good, and I’m glad I talked to you about Roan, I wasn’t sure how to bring it up” Bellamy confesses. “He also asked me to find out if Raven likes him.”

“Oh that’s what he was talking about” exclaims Clarke. “I’ll start working on it, I think they would be a good couple.”

“I’ve never met Raven but I’ll take your word for it” Bellamy jokes.

“We’ll change that soon, she’s dying to meet you.” 

Clarke gives him a quick peck on the cheek, and dashes out the door. Bellamy closes the door after her, and collapses on his bed. Meeting Clarke’s close friends definitely means he’s in a good position, right? He certainly hopes so.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the next chapter, sorry it took a week!

“Come onnnnn Bellamy” whines Jasper, grabbing Bellamy’s arm and dragging him towards the lounge.

Bellamy sighs. 

“You guys could at least try to be discreet about my ‘surprise’ birthday party, you know” he says.

Monty, Jasper, Harper and Maya all immediately turn varying shades of pink.

“Oh well, cats out of the bag now” laughs Maya.

“The cat was never in the bag, you guys are awful at keeping secrets.”

“Could you at least try to act surprised?” pleads Jasper, his eyes widening in an attempt to guilt him. “Princess Clarke made a really big deal about it being a surprise, and I don’t want her to get mad at us.”

“If you insist” jokes Bellamy.

Its Bellamy’s 23rd birthday, and he really didn’t want it to be a big deal. A month ago he could have never imagined himself walking to his party thrown by the princess herself, but here he was. He’d overheard Jasper and Maya talking about the party plans in Jasper’s room a few days ago, and by the sounds of it Clarke was making it extravagant. It would be nice to relax with his fellow contestants, though. On the Report last night Kane had singled him out for his work during the Azgeda visit, and sprung an on-the-spot interview with him. Bellamy had insisted that he and Harper were equal partners, but Kane had only seemed interested in interviewing him. It was extremely embarrassing, and afterwards when he tried to apologize to Harper she waved it off nonchalantly. 

“You’re the frontrunner, just accept it” Harper had said with a wink. 

Two more contestants whose names Bellamy couldn’t remember had been sent home over the past week. In the few moments he’d had with Clarke in the last few days she’d admitted that fairly she was going to have to cut it down to the Elite, which was the Selection jargon for the final five contestants. She was clearly having trouble deciding when and who to cut, and Bellamy couldn’t blame her. It seemed very hard to balance cutting contestants who she thought she wouldn’t have a future with and giving them a fair chance. 

Bellamy is shaken from his train of thought when he reaches the lounge, which has festive streamers on the door. 

“Go on” says Monty, opening the door and motioning for him to walk in.

“SURPRISE!!!!!!”

When he sees all the Selected, plus a few of Clarke’s closest friends and of course Clarke herself jump out at him from behind various furniture, Bellamy is literally taken aback. He’s not the biggest fan of jump scares, something Octavia constantly teases him about when they watch horror movies.

“I don’t know what to say” he says honestly, which causes everyone to laugh. 

“Thank me for organizing this awesome party” laughs Clarke, running over to give him a hug.

“Thank you for organizing this surprise event, the level of awesomeness of which I will decide once it has concluded” Bellamy smirks. 

“Well if that’s going to be your attitude, I won't be giving you your present” Clarke shoots back at him.

Bellamy pretend pouts while the rest of the room stands silently, watching them like hawks. His group of friends are used to their flirty banter, but it visibly irritates Finn. All of the other contestants with major jealously issues are gone, thankfully. 

“Fine, then I guess I’ll pretend to like the party just to get my present.”

“I don’t think you’ll have to pretend.”

With that, Clarke turns around to signal everyone to start eating and mingling, but not before shooting Bellamy a sultry wink that makes his face heat up. Before he has time to wonder about what Clarke’s present to him could be, Octavia collides with him, wrapping her arms around him.

“Look at you, big brother, dressed all fancy for your birthday” his beaming sister teases.

Compared to what he usually wore at home, he is dressed up a lot. A tight blazer, collared shirt, tailored pants and stiff leather shoes weren’t usually his clothes of choice. Miller had convinced him that since it was his party he should dress nicer than he usually would when relaxing in the lounge.

“Just another day in the life of a Selected” he jokes with Octavia, causing her to laugh. 

“Well, you really look like royalty now. And to think that you used to wear nothing but worn out jeans and ratty t-shirts.”

“Thanks O, glad to know you were such a big fan of my wardrobe. Also, if you put on one of Clarke’s insanely fancy dresses you would look like royalty too”

It’s true, Octavia had the demeanor of a natural born princess. But, as soon as he said it, he immediately knew what Octavia’s response would be.

“I don’t think we’ll just be looking like royalty soon.”

Octavia pauses, clearly hoping for Bellamy to divulge any information he might have about when Clarke was going to propose. He doesn’t want to tell Octavia about the struggles Clarke since it’s pretty personal to her, so he decides a cryptic response would be his best option.

“I guess we’ll see. Now where’s my present?”

“It’s actually a joint present with Clarke, so I think I should wait for her to tell you.” At his confused face, Octavia says. “Don’t worry, she got you an individual present too. I just needed her permission for this.”

“I assume we’re talking about the gift?” Clarke says, slipping between them and linking her arm with Bellamy’s.

“Of course!”

Bellamy is happy to see his sister so comfortable with Clarke that she just addresses her as “Clarke” instead of “Princess Clarke” or one of her other royal titles.

“Well in all honesty I’m not sure how you’re going to react, so I’ll just say it- Octavia and I are giving you Tarragon, the horse you rode on your date with me.” 

He looks at the two girls, shocked.

“Actually? You guys are giving me a horse?”

“Is that bad?” Octavia asks nervously.

“No, it’s great. I’m just surprised, that’s all. Aren’t horses hard to take care of?”

“Well yes, but you won't have to clean out his stall or groom him or anything like that if you don’t want to. It’s more of a symbolic gift, since we had such an amazing date and Tarragon is a symbol of it” explains Clarke.

“That makes sense, and Tarragon is a cool horse. Thanks you two.”

He wraps both of them up in a group hug, pausing to treasure the moment of peace with the two most important people in his life. When they all let go he feels like his heart could burst with joy, and the day wasn’t even over yet.

“I’m going to walk around and meet your Selected friends now, if you don’t mind” says Octavia.

“Of course, but please don’t tell too embarrassing stories” begs Bellamy.

“I can’t promise that” Octavia calls out over her shoulder as she walks over to Jasper and the gang.

“I should leave now while I still have my dignity” jokes Bellamy, and Clarke smiles in response.

“Oh you're not going anywhere, Raven and Wells are here and I promised them that they could meet you.”

“Are you sure?” Bellamy asks, a little nervously. 

Clarke hasn’t let any of the Selected even talk to her friends, because she doesn’t want Raven and Wells becoming close with any of them and getting upset if they are sent home.

“I told you last week, I’m sure. They’ve wanted to meet you for a while now. I swear they’re friendly.”

She takes his hand and walks the two of them over to a couch in the corner of the room, where Raven and Wells are seated, observing the rest of the Selected and talking quietly amongst themselves.

“Guys, as promised, here is the birthday boy, Bellamy Blake!”

“That’s a lot of B alliteration” Raven giggles, holding out her hand to Bellamy. 

He shakes her hand, and turns to Wells who does the same.

“I’ll let the three of you talk for a bit” says Clarke, and walks off to the desert table.

Bellamy sits on the couch between Raven and Wells, feeling a little bit awkward.

“So, Bellamy, what are your intentions with our lovely Clarke?” Wells asks seriously.

“To date her in an extremely unconventional manner for her to determine if she likes me enough to marry me?” 

Raven and Wells immediately start laughing.

“He was just joking” says Raven, doubling over. “But that was a good answer, I like it.”

When they’ve stopped laughing, Raven turns to Bellamy, her face suddenly serious.

“Look, Blake, Clarke likes you a lot, and I mean a lot. Obviously she has feelings for other Selected as well, but she likes you the most. As you know Wells and I had asked to not meet any of you guys before the Elite were chosen, but we wanted to make an exception with you, particularly after Roan took an interest in you. I know coming to the palace wasn’t your idea, but now that you’re here and have a chance at winning this we need to know that you’re serious about Clarke, and understand the responsibilities that would come with accepting her proposal.”

Gulping, Bellamy attempts to formulate a coherent answer. 

“You’re right, I didn’t want to come here, but that’s changed now. I don’t know how certain Clarke can be of our relationship considering we’ve only known each other for 3 weeks, but I do know that I like her a lot, and if you heard my answer on the first Report, I take the idea of being Clarke’s husband more seriously than I take the idea of being King. Though obviously I don’t think lightly of the positon of ruling the country” he adds at the end quickly.

“You can relax, we aren’t trying to scare you, I promise” says Wells gently. “You just have to understand that this is Clarke’s only shot at finding a spouse, and as her friends we want to watch out for her best interests. When she came to us talking about how much she likes you, we wanted to be sure that it wasn’t just lust like she feels for that asshole Finn.”

“Glad to hear I’m not the only one who doesn’t like that guy” sighs Bellamy. “And I do understand that you’re just looking out for Clarke, but I’m still intimidated by you guys because of how much your opinion means to Clarke, and I really don’t want to say the wrong thing.”

“The fact that we’re talking to you right now is proof that we were fairly certain that you wouldn’t say the wrong thing” states Raven practically. “Also, just because we’re telling you all of this doesn’t mean that Clarke is going to end the competition soon. There’s still some time left.”

“Fair enough” says Bellamy. “So is the interrogation over now?”

“Yes it is, because it’s time for cake” replies Wells, leaping out of his chair towards the giant cake that was now being rolled into the room.

Standing up and stretching, Bellamy makes his way over to the cake with Raven. The chef hands him a giant piece, and Bellamy is grateful that he didn’t have to endure a singing of Happy Birthday. He enjoys himself chatting with his friends and Octavia for the rest of the party, and when things have settled down he goes back up to his room. There was so much food at the party that the Selected have been excused from dinner, and Bellamy is looking forward to spending the rest of his evening in his room relaxing.

Later, he hears a knock at the door. Bellamy goes over to open it, and unsurprisingly Clarke is standing there, holding a present and looking a bit timid.

“Did you have a good day?” she asks, coming into his room and leaning on his dresser.

“I did, the party was really nice. Raven’s a bit terrifying though. I can see how Roan likes her.”

“She can be scary, but she means well and is extremely loyal to the people she cares about” says Clarke.

Biting her lip, she holds out the present. 

“Here you go, I really hope you like it.”

Curious, Bellamy unwraps it. Inside he finds a plaque with a hook on the back, ready to be mounted on the wall. The inscription on the back reads 

_“To Bellamy on your 23rd birthday. I wish you much happiness in the year ahead. –Princess”_

__

Turning it over, Bellamy sees that the plaque is a quote from The Odyssey. 

_“Be strong, saith my heart; I am a soldier; I have seen worse sights than this” Bellamy reads out loud, staring at Clarke in awe. “You remembered how much I love The Odyssey.”_

__

“I did, and I thought that this quote was appropriate to you because you’ve been through so much in your life and you’re still one of the toughest people I know…” Clarke trails off as Bellamy picks her up in an embrace.

“This is perfect, I can’t thank you enough” he murmurs into her hair.

“I’m glad you like it, I was nervous about giving it to you” Clarke confesses, still wrapped up in his arms.

“It shows you know me, princess. It feels really incredible to have someone know me and care about me like you do.”

“Good, because I don’t intend on stopping.” 

With that, she kisses him tenderly, entwining her fingers in his curls. He sighs, and the kiss turns passionate as she wraps her legs around him and he backs her up into a wall. Neither of them can breathe or think about anything other than the feeling of how their mouths fit perfectly together. When they pull apart, hair messy and lips red and swollen, both are smiling. 

“You know, I would’ve accepted just that kiss as a gift” whispers Bellamy, giving Clarke a peck on the nose.

“So I’m that good of a kisser?” she teases, as he gently puts her back on the ground.

“Yup.” 

“Happy birthday Bell” Clarke says softly, giving him one more kiss before she walks to the door.

“It was definitely a happy one, thanks to you” he replies.

They smile shyly at each other, and Clarke walks out, closing the door behind her. Bellamy immediately finds a nail to hang the plaque on and lies on his bed for a while looking at it, wondering how he got so lucky.

 

“So what did you think of Bellamy?” Raven asks Wells as they relax in her room.

“I think he’s a great guy, and he clearly really likes Clarke” Wells replies, reaching over Raven to grab a handful of popcorn.

“I agree, they’re good together. He’s also humble and honest, which are qualities that are important for the leader of a country.

“You’re starting to sound like my dad” Wells groans. “I swear all that happens in the meetings now are arguments about dissolving the caste system and who Clarke is going to choose. They all think Bellamy now that the Azgeda court really likes him. Also, I’m pretty sure there’s a bet going on that Jake started”

“Damn, I want to get in on that bet” laughs Raven. “And Roan liking Bellamy is definitely huge, I don’t think Bellamy really understands how cold that guy can be.”

“He’s never cold around you” Wells teases as Raven hits him in the arm. “Come on, he definitely has a thing for you.”

“First Clarke, now you, I don’t like him” cries Raven. “I mean I’d hook up with him but I can’t really see myself being in a serious relationship, especially not a long distance one. Also, I love living in Arkadia, I don’t really want to live anywhere else.”

“Fair enough” Wells admits. “Just keep an open mind to it, okay? I think you two could make it work.”

“I promise I’ll think about it” grunts Raven, shoveling popcorn into her mouth. “So total topic change, there’s been a lot of arguments about the caste system?”

“Ya, Diana Sydney wants to get rid of it now, but Jake, rightfully so, keeps pointing out that it’s more complicated than Diana thinks. We can’t get rid of her because she’s so popular with the lower castes, so for now we have to endure it. Clarke really stood up to her last week though, it was awesome.”

“I heard, Diana definitely had it coming. One thing I’m confused about is I thought your dad was a fan of the caste system?”

Wells sighs, it’s a common misconception. “He’s not, everyone thinks he is since he once said he was a fan of structure and order. Sentencing people to a life of poverty because of their parent’s jobs is hardly a good structure. He and Jake are working harder than anyone to come up with a plan to get rid of it once and for all.”

“That’s good” says Raven, yawning loudly. “I don’t want to be rude but I’m super exhausted so I’m kicking you out.”

“Okay, good night”. 

Wells gives her a hug, and starts walking back to his room. While walking, he starts to have the feeling that he’s being watched. He shakes it off, though. He’s tired and is probably just imaging things.  
_____________________________________________________________________________  
The next morning, Clarke is awoken to Raven bursting into her room. 

“Clarke, you have to come with me now.”

“Why? What happened?” Clarke asks, immediately fully awake from the urgency in her friend’s voice.

“It’s Wells. I don’t know all the details, but he was found lying in a pool of blood on the floor this morning. He’s in emergency surgery right now, and they aren’t sure if he’s going to make it.”

In that instant, Clarke can feel her whole world crashing around her as she stumbles in a trance to the hospital wing where one of her closest friends is clinging to life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A few things:  
> 1\. It took me a while to find a quote from _The Odyssey_ that would be meaningful to Bellamy, but if any of you can think of any other quotes that will work better let me know in the comments!  
>  2\. On Thursday I'm going up to a camp where I'll be a counselor for 6 weeks. I will have wifi but I won't have my laptop, and I don't like writing on my phone so I won't be able to update. I'm home every 2 weeks for the weekend so there is a slight chance that I will have a chapter to post then, but if I don't then this is the last update for a while. I made this chapter a bit longer to try and help compensate for that, and sorry for ending on a cliffhanger but I swear once I start writing again it will be worth it. So, if I don't post until then I hope everyone has a good summer :)  
> 3\. To help cope with the hiatus I created a "Bellarke angst" playlist for myself, and I thought I'd recommend a few of my favorites!  
> Almost Lover- A Fine Frenzy  
> All of the Stars- Ed Sheeran  
> Atlas: Sorrow- Sleeping at Last (actually pretty much anything by Sleeping at Last, but this one and 10 000 miles are the best)  
> End of the World- A Great Big World and Ingrid Michaelson (two different songs with the same name)  
> Forget me not- Marianas Trench  
> Home- Foxes (one of the lyrics links perfectly and it hurts my heart)  
> I never told you- Colbie Caillat  
> I won't let you go (darling)- Hedley  
> I'll be seeing you- Billie Holiday (The Notebook, anyone?)  
> Lay me down- Sam Smith  
> Never be alone- Shawn Mendes  
> Sign of the Times- Harry Styles (just trust me on this one)  
> Skinny Love- Any version but I personally like the Birdy one  
> Take me Home- Us  
> Talking to the Moon- Bruno Mars  
> 21 Days- Scott Helman


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooo I'm back! I had such a good time since I was working with kids and horses all summer, which is pretty much my version of paradise. Camp ended last week, and I didn't have any time to write until yesterday since I was doing touristy stuff with one of the counsellors I worked with this summer. Weird to think that 6 weeks are gone just like that....anyways here's the next chapter! I go back to university in a few weeks, and once I'm back updates will probably be only once or twice a week, depending on how much work I have to do :)

“What’s going on? What happened?” Clarke bursts out as she crashes through the double doors of the hospital wing.

“Your Highness, I’m going to need you to lower your voice a bit. I understand you are agitated, but we have other patients who need rest here” says Doctor Nyko, the head of the hospital.

Clarke reluctantly calms down, knowing he is right. Taking a shaky breath, she asks again “what happened?”

“He was found about an hour ago by one of the maids. There was a gunshot wound that missed his lungs by millimetres. He’s lucky that he’s even alive at this point.”

“Is he going to be all right?” asks Raven, tears forming in her eyes.

“I don’t know” replies Nyko honestly. “This is a high risk surgery and will be several hours long, so we won't know for a while. You don’t have to wait here while it’s going on, I’ll send for you as soon as anything changes.”

“We’re not going anywhere” replies Clarke stubbornly. 

“I thought you might say that” says Nyko gently. “We’ll set up some chairs for you to wait in.”

He walks off, and Clarke takes a moment to process everything that has just happened. She does not have much time, since the doors burst open and her parents, Wells’ parents and a slew of other people come charging in.

“Oh sweetheart” cries Abby when she sees her daughter’s tear-stricken face. “I promise you we will find whoever did this to him and they will pay for it for the rest of their lives.”

“I can’t lose him Mom” sobs Clarke, falling into her mother’s arms. “He’s my best friend, I don’t know what I’ll do without him.”

Abby strokes Clarke’s hair as Clarke’s gasping breaths eventually slow down. Jake comes over and wraps his arms around Clarke as her legs give in and she crumples to the floor.

“It’s going to be okay” Jake whispers to her.

“Is it?” Clarke looks up at him, silently urging him to tell her the truth, not just something to make her feel better.

“I don’t know, but whatever happens we will get through this. I already have an idea of who could have shot him, but that’s something to be discussed at a later time.”

Clarke nods, accepting his honest answer.

“If you don’t mind I’d like to be alone now” she states.

“Of course, Nyko has already offered you his office to stay in. Breakfast is being prepared for us right now, and we can bring you something to eat.”

“I’m not hungry” says Clarke as she walks off.

Locking the door to Nyko’s office, Clarke lies down on the couch trying to figure out how this could have happened. The palace was the safest place in Arkadia, and Wells was one of the most beloved citizens, yet somehow he had been shot, likely by someone who either lived or worked in the palace. She picks up a notepad and pen, and starts writing down a list of his possible enemies, but abandons it quickly. Wells wasn’t the kind of person who had enemies. So, Clarke deduced, it was probably meant to hurt Thelonious. Sighing, Clarke curls up into a ball and thinks about how there’s no way she’s going to be able to fall asleep. But, her body has other ideas and soon enough she’s fast asleep.

A while later Clarke awakens to a soft knock at the door. Rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, she goes to open it to find Raven waiting with a tray of food.

“You have to eat something” states Raven simply. “Wells wouldn’t want you to sacrifice your health over him.”

Clarke knows Raven is right, so they clear off the desk and set the tray down. Raven watches her intently while she takes a bite of a muffin. Satisfied that Clarke is eating, Raven takes a piece of toast for herself. 

“Do we have any more updates?” asks Clarke.

“No, but all of the Selected were informed and are currently waiting with your parents. They all seem pretty worried, and I don’t think it’s just an act. Bellamy in particular, but he’s mostly worried about how you’re doing.”

Clarke smiles weakly when hearing that. 

“I don’t think I’m up for talking to any of them right now. They’d all ask me how I’m feeling, and I’d have to put on a brave face and pretend that this isn’t a sign that we have a betrayer in the castle who could strike again at any moment.”

“That’s true, but you’ll have to leave this office eventually” warns Raven. “You’ve already been here for 6 hours.”

“It’s been that long?” Clarke is surprised, she thought she was only asleep for a couple of hours. “So the surgery must be close to being done.”

“Probably.” 

Clarke starts shaking her leg, something she only does when she’s extremely nervous. Raven reaches over and puts her hand on her friend’s leg to comfort her.

“No matter the outcome, we will get through this” Raven reassures her.

“I know we will.” Clarke leans into her side. “But this means everything is going to change, and my life and my parent’s lives could be in danger, and I’m really scared that this is going to happen to me.”

“It won’t, I promise. There have already been upgrades to security- the amount of guards in your family’s private area of the palace has doubled, and all of the Selected have volunteered to be your bodyguards if you need it. Azgeda has also been informed, and they have promised to send in their own guards as reinforcement as necessary.”

“Wait, how does Azgeda already know?”

Clarke looks over at Raven, who has a guilty look on her face.

“I may have called Roan while hysterical, and he may have calmed me down and stayed on the phone with me while I was bawling my eyes out.”

“What?!” Clarke gently punches her friends’ arm. “Horrible circumstances to call him but I’m so happy you did. I told you that you guys would be good together.”

“Ugh, and as much as I hate to admit it, you were right. He was really sweet and promised to fly out and visit me if I need some support. Oh, and he also asked if he could be invited to your proposal night, whenever that may be.”

“Of course he can come, and I have absolutely no idea when that is going to be. It’s only been 3 weeks, and so much has happened already.” Clarke sighs. “I think I need to do a big cut down to the Elite soon, so that they have lots of time to focus on their Royal training. The more time they have, the easier the transition will be for whomever I end up engaged to.” 

“Any idea who that’ll be at this point?”

“Honestly, I can’t think straight right now, so I couldn’t give you a clear answer even if I wanted to. Plus, like I said, it’s only been 3 weeks.”

“I know, but 3 weeks is enough to start to formulate an idea” pushes Raven. “Plus, sweetie, we need to talk about something to distract ourselves from what’s happening right now. I spilled about my romantic life, now it’s your turn.”

“Okay fine.” Clarke pauses to think for a moment. “I mean, Bellamy and Lexa are still the top two, but I’ve spent so much more time with Bellamy lately that I’m not sure if that’s part of it. I think I’ll ask Lexa if she wants to go try tennis later this week.”

“That sounds like a good idea” says Raven. “Any others?”

“Because of everything that’s happened recently I haven’t had my date with Harper yet, and she seems like a really sweet girl. I’d definitely like to get to know her better. And I know Bellamy hates Finn, but I swear he’s a good guy.”

“I think I’m with Bellamy on that one” Raven says, rolling her eyes. “There’s something about that guy that just doesn’t sit right with me. Can you promise me you’ll at least think about Bellamy’s and my opinion on him?”

“I promise.”

Clarke holds out her pinkie finger, and Raven wraps her pinkie finger around Clarke’s. Pinkie promises are something they’ve done since they were little kids, and years later they still take them very seriously. 

“I don’t know what I’d do without you, Ray” Clarke admits.

“Right back at you, Clarkey” Raven smiles. 

They sit in silence and eat for a while until there’s a knock at the door, and Jake comes in.

Both girls jump to their feet.

“How’s he doing, Dad?” asks Clarke.

“He’s out of surgery, and although he might be unconscious for a while longer, the doctors except he’s going to recover.”

“Oh thank god” Clarke cries out, hugging her father and Raven tightly. “When can I see him?”

“You can both come see him now, but it will have to be quick. As unfortunate as it is we still all have work that needs to be done, and we’ve all spent almost the whole day in here.”

Clarke and Raven run out of the office and into the emergency section. They slow down when they reach the room that has two guards outside speaking to Nyko.

“Come on in” beckons Nyko. “He’s still in a light coma and he looks a bit scary since he has a lot of machines hooked up to him, but I promise you he is going to be fine.”

“You can go in first, Clarke” says Raven.

Clarke nods and walks into the room. Wells does have a lot of beeping machines surrounding him, but she barely notices them. All she sees is her best friend, alive by a miracle.

“Hey, Wells. It sucks that this happened to you, huh?” Clarke pauses to wipe away a few tears. “Listen, we are going to find who did this. Hopefully once you wake up we’ll have some more answers, but I just know that Sydney is behind this. She’s manipulative enough, and she has to go. I’m sure my dad and your dad will back me up on it. Also, this has given me the push I needed to cut the Selection down to the Elite. By the end of next week, I will have made my decision of the final 5. I can’t keep on waiting for signs from the universe of who to send home and who to keep, since life doesn’t work like that. Life is random, and at any given point the people you love could be suddenly taken away from you. I understand that now.” 

Clarke leans down to give Wells a kiss on the forehead, and walks out. When she walks into the lobby, all of the Selected run over to her to see how she is doing. All of them look concerned. She goes around and hugs and talks to each of them thanking them for their support. She asks Lexa to go play tennis and sets a date for golf with Harper, and both of their faces light up. Once she has spoken to them all of them leave. The last one she goes to is Bellamy. When she reaches him, he takes her in his arms wordlessly and gently rocks her back and forth, entwining his hand in her hair. They stand there like that for a while, and she’s the first one to let go.

“Thank you” says Clarke, squeezing his hand. “That comforted me more than words ever could.”

“I know” replies Bellamy, pressing a quick kiss to her hair. “It’s been a rough day; you should get to bed now.”

“If I can make it there, I’m too tired to walk” Clarke smiles, attempting a joke.

“That’s not an issue” smirks Bellamy as he picks her up princess-style. As he walks out of the hospital, he’s careful to be quiet since Clarke is already starting to fall asleep on his shoulder.

 

Elsewhere in the palace, two other members of the Selected have come to the same conclusion that Clarke did- life is random, and you should hold onto those you care about. As Jasper and Maya cuddled after kissing each other for the first time, they realized they had to tell Clarke and their friends that they couldn’t be part of the Selection any longer.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Life is starting to get crazy with my second year of university starting on Tuesday, but I love this story so I'll try to update as soon as I can. Sidenote- Bob Morley is in my city this weekend for a Fan Expo and I'm so sad I can't to go meet him because I'm flying out on Sunday :(

“Now that it’s been a month and a half since you were shot, how are you doing?” Clarke asks Wells as they relax on the chairs next to the Palace’s giant swimming pool.

“A lot better, the physical therapy is really helping” admits Wells, popping a strawberry into his mouth. “I wish they had figured out who did it, though.”

“Me too, I just know that Diana Sydney is involved somehow, but Dad said he can't do anything about it without evidence” growls Clarke, clenching her fists. “The palace security reported no odd activity on the grounds that day, and she’s the only one with any motive to shoot you, since she’s so against how my Dad and your Dad are getting rid of the caste system. Also, she’s been oddly quiet in the meetings lately; I have the feeling she’s up to something.” 

Wells leans over and rubs the tension out of Clarke’s shoulders.

“Don’t stress about it, you have enough on your mind. You’re down to the final five contestants, and you should be focusing on that.”

Clarke nods, she really does need to have all her attention on the Selection. After Wells’ accident, she came to the realization that she needed to cut it down to the Elite as soon as she could. She took a few days, but since she couldn’t choose just five, she cut it down to seven- Bellamy, Monty, Jasper, Maya, Lexa, Finn and Harper. They started their Elite training where they spend intensive time learning about how the palace functioned, and what it would mean to be Royal. A little while after the Elite were chosen, Jasper and Maya came to her and admitted that they had developed feelings for each other, and asked if they could be dismissed. Of course Clarke agreed, but she and the other contestants were sad to see them leave, especially Monty, with whom Jasper had developed an extremely close friendship. That was 4 weeks ago, and the public and Clarke’s parents were anxious for another elimination. Since she had taken such a long time, Clarke knew that she would be expected to eliminate multiple people. She had no idea what she was going to do, because she felt confident in the relationships she had with all of the members of the Elite. 

“I should get going, I need to start getting ready for the _Report_ ” yawns Clarke, stretching as she sits up. It’s the first afternoon she’s had to relax in a while, and it’s gone by too quickly.

“Ok, I’ll see you then. Good talking to you” says Well, giving her a quick hug.

On the way back to her room, Clarke bumps into Bellamy.

“Woah, princess, you should watch where you're going” teases Bellamy, catching her as she stumbles. 

“My hero, as always” Clarke says, batting her eyelashes.

“How was your afternoon with Wells?” he asks, pulling her upright but keeping his arms loosely around her waist.

“It was really nice, I definitely needed a break from everything that’s been going on lately”.

“I can imagine, everything has been so crazy, I honestly don’t know how you're handling it” Bellamy says gently.

“I haven’t exactly been sleeping, so there’s that” Clarke admits.

“You need your rest. Can you promise me you’ll try to take better care of yourself?”

“I promise” says Clarke reluctantly, and Bellamy smiles at her response.

“I’m going to hold you to that.”

He leans down and gives her a quick peck on the mouth.

“See you after the _Report_?”

“Sounds like a plan.”

Lately Clarke has been eating dinner in her room with Indra, since Indra decided that Clarke needs special lessons in preparation for the _Report_. According to Indra, Clarke needs to start looking and sounding more “royal”. As a result, Clarke has been taking the questions during the question and answer panels, and giving updates on sensitive topics like the economy and the steps being taken to dissolve the caste system. It’s a lot harder than she thought, and she’s starting to realize how difficult running the country is going to be.

As soon as Clarke walks into her room, Indra immediately shoves a clipboard at her.

“You’re going to be leading an in-depth discussion on the problems in the education system, and the teacher’s union is very adamant that the issues we are going to be addressing are non-existent, so good luck with that. Oh, and Kane will be asking you a lot of questions about your relationships with each of the Selected to try and figure out who you're going to be eliminated next. While we’re on that topic, you should announce the elimination by next Friday at the latest. If you leave it any longer, the public is going to think you're extremely indecisive, and start questions your ability to rule.”

“Okay, I got all of that” says Clarke, her brain being weighed down by everything she had to do tonight. 

“On a lighter note, we’ve decided that your wardrobe needs to look more, for lack of a better term, queenly, so you will be spending most of tomorrow being fitted. That should be a nice break for you.”

“I’ll be looking forward to that, definitely!” Clarke exclaims. One of her favourite parts of being a princess is the clothing.

“Good” Indra states. “Now, let’s start going over everything. I’ve arranged for your hair and makeup to be done in here so we have more time.

Later that evening, Clarke is trying to relax in the Elite’s lounge. Like Indra had warned her, Kane had grilled her about every miniscule detail with all of the Elite, and had shocked her by asking her when the public could expect a proposal. 

“It has been two and a half months since the Selection started” Kane had said with a sly wink.

Clarke was so surprised she could barely get an answer out, but she’d managed to say something about how the process to find a partner was something she took seriously, and it would take as long as it would take. Indra had later chastised her for her answer, telling her that she should have said before Christmas, because all the proposals from previous Selections had occurred around a major holiday. That gave Clarke just over a month to make her decision, which terrifies her. 

“…Clarke? So what do you think?”

The sound of Harper’s voice snaps her back to the present.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t hear what you said. Could you repeat it?”

“All of us have been talking, and we thought it might be fun go on a day trip exploring the grounds as a group. We know that at least one of us is going to be cut soon, and we all want to see more of the palace grounds, since it’s over 100 acres! Do you think your parents would be okay with it?”

“That sounds like a great idea” smiles Clarke. “And you're right, there will be an elimination soon, likely a double elimination since there hasn’t been one in a while. I've been putting off doing it, since I really like all of you, and it’s going to be a really hard decision.”

“Aren’t all the eliminations from now on going to be difficult?” asks Finn, his eyes wide with a look of fake innocence.

“Well yes, but-“

“So why don’t you just choose one of us and get it over with?”

Everyone stares at Finn, stunned that he had the guts to talk to Clarke like that.

Clarke smiles, trying to be polite. Finn has been getting on her nerves lately, but he’s adored by the public, which is something she needs to take into consideration,

“Because, Finn, this is my only chance at finding a spouse, and this is something I take seriously. I hope that you all understand how important this is to me, and I apologize if you staying here longer is inconveniencing you. If this is taking too long and any of you would like to get back to your regular lives, please feel free to let me know, as it would greatly help me.”

Finn turns a bright shade of red, mumbles an apology, and immediately leaves the lounge. 

“Wow” says Monty, staring after him. “He has been on edge lately, but I didn’t think he’d snap like that.”

“Me neither” admits Clarke. “But in a way he’s right, I do need to choose someone, but I didn’t like how he phrased it as getting it over with. It’s a big decision.”

“If you don’t mind me asking, why don’t you just eliminate him now?” asks Lexa gently. 

“Because the reality is I’m going to get annoyed at whichever one of you I marry at some points, and I don’t want to dismiss any of you just because of an argument.”

“I guess that makes sense, but can I just say that guy is a total ass” Lexa grimaces.

“Agreed” shouts Bellamy, fist-bumping Lexa. 

Since Jasper and Maya left Lexa started hanging out with Bellamy a lot more, and the two of them had become quite friendly. It’s something that makes Clarke happy, because they are still her top contenders, and she knows that in her mother’s Selection there was a lot of drama between some of the top contenders, which caused Abby to second-guess a lot of her decisions. 

“Well I will probably be announcing the elimination next Friday on the _Report_ and I will let the contestant know ahead of time, so they aren’t embarrassed on live television. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go ask my parents when we can do the trip.”

“Okay!” smiles Harper. The day trip was clearly her idea, and she looks quite excited about it.

Clarke briskly walks to her parent’s chambers. She knocks and walks in, and they both walk over to hug her.

“How are you doing, honey? We haven’t seen you in a while” says Abby, tucking a piece of her behind Clarke’s ear.

“I’m doing well. Was I okay on the _Report_?” Clarke asks anxiously.

“You did very well! Indra is doing a good job of preparing you” smiles Jake. “Is there anything in particular you wanted to talk to us about?”

“Yes, the Elite were wondering if we could take a day and explore the palace grounds. They’re curious to see more of it. I think it’s a good idea, but I wanted to ask your permission first.”

“We can definitely arrange for that; I’ll just need to pull some guards off their regular rotation to keep an eye on you guys” replies Jake. “Would this Sunday work?”

“Yes, I believe so. Thank you so much!” 

Clarke reaches over and hugs both of her parents. 

“I’m really excited, all the Elite are getting along well so this should be a good day.”

“Speaking of which, are you any closer to making a decision on the next elimination?” asks Abby excitedly. 

“No idea. I’ve formed connections with all of them, and I’m scared to let any of them go, because I really don’t want to mess this up” Clarke admits. 

“I know what you’re going through, the same thing happened to me”. Abby puts a comforting arm around her daughter. “I learned that going with my first instinct was best, because even if I changed my mind later, I usually circled back around to my first choice. You can do this, I promise.”

“Okay, I’ll take that into account. And I’ve decided to make the next elimination by Friday.”

“That’s for the best” responds Jake. “You’re lucky you have a group of such fine young people to choose from.” 

“This has turned out even better than I could have hoped for” Clarke confesses. “I thought I wouldn’t be able to find anyone I could see myself marrying, but now I have too many.” 

“Well it’s a better problem than disliking all of them” Abby laughs. “Now, I know Kane asking about when you might propose caught you off-guard, but it is something you need to start considering. Indra mentioned that she told you that you should’ve answered around Christmas, and I think that’s for the best. We’ll discuss the logistics of it more once you’ve chosen your final two contestants.”

Clarke shudders a little bit. Even though she knows the endgame of the Selection is getting engaged, and whoever she proposes to is bound to say yes, the idea of proposing is scary to her.

“Sounds like a plan. I’m going back to my room, I’ll see you at brunch tomorrow.”

Once Clarke has gotten ready for bed, she falls asleep immediately. All the talk of her romantic future is really starting to drain her.


	16. Chapter 16

Clarke gives herself a final once-over in the mirror. She spots a piece of hair slightly out of place, and flicks it back over her shoulder. Today is her day trip with the remainder of the Elite, and, since there will be photographers and reporters every step of the way, she has to look picture perfect. It’s also Thursday, which means she has to announce the next elimination tomorrow live on the Report. Even though this is supposed to be a fun day for her and the Elite to relax, she knows she will be doing everything except relaxing. She has to spend time with all of them to ensure sure she makes the right choice, pose for enough “candid” pictures so the reporters have stories to sell, and, above all, start looking and acting like the next ruler of Arkadia, as the end of the Selection is quickly approaching. 

“You look lovely, darling” Abby remarks as she enters Clarke’s room.

“Thank you” replies Clarke, running her hands over her pants to smooth out the nonexistent wrinkles. “I know this is a day for me to enjoy myself, but as I’m sure you are aware, there’s a lot riding on it. Cutting the Elite down to the Final Four means their families will be coming to visit, and that’s such a big deal. It’s really starting to feel real now, even though the Selection started just over two months ago.”

“Meeting their families is a big deal, but just imagine how they felt meeting your father and I- I can't imagine you’ll be any more nervous than they were! That being said, one of those families is your future in-laws, and I understand that you want to impress them. They will love you though, and I can guarantee they will feel no animosity towards you if you don’t choose to marry their son or daughter.”

“That’s good to hear, because that’s the part I was most worried about” Clarke admits. “These families have already sacrificed spending time with their children just so they can have the opportunity to meet me, and I don’t want them to feel like that was wasted time.”

“They won’t, just being chosen for the Selection is an honour, and having a child make it to the Final Four will help boost their standing in this ridiculous caste system our ancestors thought was a good idea” says Abby. “Speaking of which, your father and I have a big announcement relating to it coming soon, so if do not see as much of us in the coming days, that is why. We’ll still make time for you, obviously, but..”

“But this is a big project, I completely understand” finishes Clarke. “It’s an important one, and I hope it turns out well.”

“We have the top minds in the country working on it, so I’m sure it will” smiles Abby, giving her daughter a quick kiss on her forehead so she doesn’t smudge her makeup. “I have to be going now, I’m afraid. I know this is pointless advice, but at least try to enjoy yourself. Very shortly, all but one of those people will be gone, so appreciate the time you have with them. The majority of the bonds you form may not be romantic, but they can blossom into friendships that you will be grateful for. I hope that helps you.”

“It does, Mom, thank you.”

Clarke closes the door behind her with a sigh. Her mother obviously means well, and she’s been through the same process, but in the moment it’s very hard to take her advice about enjoying herself to heart. There’s too much else going on.

Glancing down at the watch her father got her for her 16th birthday, Clarke sees it’s time for her to go. Slipping on a pair of sturdy but stylish boots and pulling on her favourite grey jacket that matches her pants, she exits her room. Judging from the noise as she approaches the staircase, she assumes the rest of the Elite have already gathered in the foyer. Sure enough, once she reaches the bottom stair she sees five pairs of eager eyes turn to her. They clearly all know that she will be making her decision about the next elimination based on this trip because every single one of them looks impeccable. Hair neatly combed back, flattering clothing, and Harper and Lexa definitely have a little bit more makeup on than usual (not that she’s complaining, they look lovely). 

“There’s the woman of the hour” says Monty happily, reaching over to give her a hug. When she reciprocates, he whispers in her ear “Can we talk alone at some point today?”

That confuses Clarke because he’s never asked for one-on-one time with her before, but when they break apart she gives him a slight nod. She assumes it’s about the pending elimination. The thought quickly leaves her mind as she hugs the rest of the Elite, as she has so much else to focus on. There’s a man she has seen a few times before standing next to Bellamy, and she turns to him.

“Clarke, this is my butler and friend, Miller. He’s an avid hiker, and the others and I have requested he lead us on a hike to start. We know you have a lot on your mind, so we’ve organized everything for today. You don’t have to do anything.”

“That is very kind of you all, thank you so much” Clarke replies warmly. Now that she has a name to Miller’s face, she remembers seeing him with Bellamy around the Palace a fair amount. This also gives her an opportunity to find out what Bellamy is like from the perspective of the person who spends the most time with him other than his sister, but she knows she’ll have to be discrete about asking him.

“Are we all ready to go, Your Highness?” the head guard asks.

“Yes we are. If you would all please follow Miller out, we will get started.”

As soon as they leave the palace, the Elite walk alongside her. They clearly all want to talk to her, but don’t want to be the first one to speak. Monty is the only one who doesn’t, as he has walked ahead to talk to Miller. It’s funny, Clarke observes, at the beginning of the Selection they were all constantly competing for her attention. She practically had an earache by the end of each day from the amount of listening she had to do. Now, it seems as if they’ve developed a camaraderie, and don’t want to disrespect each other. Even Finn has been fitting in since his outburst a couple of days ago; he seems to have realized that it’s better for him to have friends than to have enemies. She’s glad they’re getting along so well, and she feels sad she has to send one of them home tomorrow.

“To cut through this clear awkwardness, how about we all converse with each other as a group for now, and once we’ve picked a spot for lunch I can speak with you all individually” Clarke announces, cutting through the silence.

“Oh thank god, that was really tense” blurts out Harper.

Everyone else laughs, and they immediately start talking about the latest episode of the popular reality dance competition TV show that many former members of the Selection have gone on to compete in. The Selected started watching each episode together at the very beginning as a way of spending time with each other, and now that they are down to the Elite it’s something Clarke knows they take very seriously. They get a ton of junk food from the kitchen, wear their pajamas, and throw ton of cushions and blankets on the ground to watch it. They also have a complicated betting system, and the person who wins the bet each week gets to choose the dinner for the next day. That had resulted in an interesting culinary experience for everyone when Jasper had won, since he had chosen a recipe for goat stew from Turkmenistan. Needless to say it had not agreed with everyone’s digestive systems.

“I can’t believe the show is ending in a few weeks” says Monty, who had dropped back to join them. “It’s kind of weird, the timeline of it is basically the same as for us.”

“That is strange” remarks Clarke. She hadn’t thought about it at all, but she realized that Monty was right.

“Well, I’m sure that there won’t be any animosity between the winners and the people who lose in the final round” says Bellamy, and Clarke takes a look at his face and realizes he isn’t just talking about the dance show.

“I agree” replies Lexa. “I’ve never watched it before, and I’m surprised at how emotionally invested in it I’ve become. Also, am I the only one who wants to try dancing now?”

“You’re definitely not, Jasper and Maya are planning on taking dance classes together when they move to the same city, and I know I want to as well” smiles Monty.

“How are they doing?” Clarke asks Monty. She knows Jasper and Monty have been in contact every single day since Jasper and Maya left. 

“They’re good, the distance is a bit difficult for them, but they have faith they can make it work in the long run. I know they can as well.” 

“Oh they definitely will, and they’d better invite all of us to their wedding” laughs Harper. 

“Honestly, they’ll probably get married before me” admits Clarke. “Royal engagements usually last at least three years because there’s a lot to plan, and a lot to teach the fiancé about what it will be like running a country.”

“I guessed it would be a long engagement” remarks Bellamy. “I’m sure what we’re being taught right now is barely even scratching the surface of what your life is really like.”

“You’re right about that” Clarke confesses. “But that’s because a lot of it can’t be taught, it can only be learned. There’s no lesson plan for when there’s a sudden natural disaster or an economic crisis. Unfortunately, you can only learn how to deal with the big events through experience. That’s something I’ve been meaning to talk to you all about, actually. If whoever I ultimately choose feels like they aren’t doing a good job, I want you all to know that at the beginning it will be extremely hard. But, as you go through the process more often, eventually you will settle in, I promise. You will also have advisors, my parents and of course myself supporting you every step of the way. It’s a tough job, but a rewarding one.”

The Elite watch her earnestly throughout her speech, and at the end of it they all lean in to give her a group hug. 

“We’ve all got your back, and I think I can speak on behalf of all of us when I say that we understand that being a Royal will be very difficult for us at first, but we will work through the hard parts with you” Lexa says.

Bellamy, Harper, Monty and Harper all nod in agreement. Clarke sees a camera flash go off beside them, capturing them all smiling together. She makes a mental note to ask the photographer for the picture, because it’s definitely a moment she wants to have framed.

About half an hour later, they reach the place that Miller chose for lunch. Clarke looks around in awe, it’s almost as beautiful as her secret sanctuary. She hears a stream bubbling in the distance, and the call of a morning dove overhead. Everyone else seems to be as transfixed as her, as they are all looking around, soaking up all the beauty. They are snapped out of their trance by the sound of the picnic baskets being opened, and everyone eagerly runs over to start eating.

Clarke waits until everyone has gotten their food and had a little bit to eat before she starts speaking to them one-on-one. She decides to talk to Monty first, because she wants to know what he has to say to her. 

“Monty, could you please join me? I’d like us to speak first” Clarke says, standing up and looking for a spot where she can talk to him in private.

“Of course, it would be my honour” replies Monty formally. 

His tone makes Clarke frown a bit, he usually doesn’t address her so officially. Whatever he has to say must be really important. They take a seat on the ground a little bit away from the rest of the group.

“I’m not sure how to put this, so I think I’ll just get straight to the point. I am honoured that you chose me to be one of the Elite, but I do not feel like I have developed feelings strong enough for you to justify me staying. I think we have a good friendship, but I do not see it turning into something more on my end.”

Clarke is shocked, she had not expected this. She takes a moment to decide how to respond.

“Monty, I thank you for your honesty. We definitely have a good foundation of friendship, and if you believe that you could not develop romantic feelings for me, then it was the right choice to tell me so.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you earlier, I just wanted to see if I could end up falling for you, if that makes sense. I hope that doesn’t upset you.”

“Of course not!” Clarke exclaims. “I chose to keep you because I saw potential in us, more so than the contestants I sent home. That potential is what matters, not the final outcome. As well, you just made the decision for me as to who I am sending home tomorrow, and that is a relief. I had no idea what I was going to do.”

“Glad I could help, and thank you so much for being a wonderful host. I hope we can leave this experience as friends” Monty smiles.

“Definitely.”

Clarke reaches over and gives him a hug. Out of the corner of her eye she can see the other contestants watching.

“Would you like me to wait until the Report to tell the rest of them?” she asks him.

“If you wouldn’t mind.”

“I can definitely do that.” 

They smile at each other, and Clarke feels confident that this is for the best. 

“Could you please send Harper over next?”

“Right away, Your Highness” Monty jokes, playfully bowing to her.

Harper walks over, and Clarke is happy to see her. At the beginning of the Selection she would not have expected Harper to make it this far, but the girl was so lovely, and was proving to be very good at handling all the work Indra was giving the Elite.

“Are you enjoying yourself?” Harper asks.

“I am; this was a lovely idea. I’m glad you suggested it” Clarke smiles. “How about you?”

“Yes, obviously!” gushes Harper. “The Palace grounds are so beautiful, and I’ve wanted to see more of them for a while.”

“Honestly me too, I don’t get out enough, unless I’m going riding” Clarke confesses. 

“Well I know this is a difficult day because of the decision you have to make, but I do hope you are able to have some fun as well.”

“Believe me, I’m trying” Clarke responds with a giggle. 

They chat for a few more minutes, and then Harper leaves and Lexa comes over to sit with Clarke.

“I haven’t seen you as much as I’d like to have lately” apologizes Clarke.

“It’s okay, I understand that you’re extremely busy” Lexa responds, placing a hand on Clarke’s knee. “I just want you to know that if I am the one being sent home tomorrow it was an honour to have met you, and I would like to continue corresponding with you in the future.”

“I can’t say if you are or if you aren’t, but I would definitely want to keep in contact with you if that were to happen. I have a feeling you’ll become involved in politics with or without me, and I think you could be a good ally to the Royal Family.”

“That’s very flattering, thank you Clarke. You will make a wonderful Queen, the people of Arkadia are lucky to have you.”

Lexa presses a kiss to Clarke’s cheek, and walks back to continue her lunch. Clarke is once again struck by how little time each of them are spending talking to her. She figures it’s probably because they are hungry, as well as they have been a part of the Selection for long enough to know that it’s not the quantity of time they spend with her, but the quality.

Clarke realizes she forgot to tell Lexa who to send over to her next. She starts to stand up, but quickly sits back down as Finn makes his way over to her.

“Hello, Clarke. I’m sorry you have to spend all this time talking with us instead of eating” he jokes.

Clarke laughs; he’s right, she would definitely rather be eating right now. The food smells heavenly and they’ve been walking all morning.

“It’s okay, these impromptu meetings have been very efficient so far. I should be back to devouring mini-sandwiches within a few minutes.”

“The ones with the tomatoes, cheese and mayonnaise? Those are the best!”

“I know, right? They’re my favourite snack.”

Clarke notices how much more relaxed things between her and Finn have been since he stopped picking fights with the Elite. It seems less like him competing for her hand and more like them truly getting to know each other, which is a lot more enjoyable. Finn is quite charming, and their conversations usually end up being flirty. Sure enough, once they’re done ranting about food he smoothly compliments her appearance, and kisses her hand before he rejoins the others.

Bellamy is clearly engrossed in a conversation, so he takes a few minutes to walk over to her. When he finally does, he holds out a napkin containing a few of the sandwiches she was talking to Finn about.

“These are what you always eat at lunch, and I figured you were getting hungry” he says with a smile.

“I am, and that’s really sweet that you noticed that my favourite food was.”

“It’s just one of many things I’ve noticed about you, Clarke Griffin” Bellamy teases.

“What are the others?” Clarke leans on her elbows and looks at him, genuinely curious.

He pauses for a moment to think before finally responding.

“Well, for starters you like wearing matching pantsuits whenever you have the opportunity” Bellamy laughs. Then, his face turns more serious. “You’re left-handed except when you eat for some reason. You bite your lower lip when you’re really concentrating. The only board game you get competitive over is Clue.

He pauses again, and looks at Clarke so fondly she thinks her heart might burst. And, my personal favourite, whenever you’re looking at someone you love, your entire face lights up and your eyes get a bit bigger. I don’t know how else to describe it, but I see it every time you look at your parents, or your friends, or Blue. It’s so breathtakingly beautiful, and I hope that someday you’ll look at me that way.”

Taken aback by his confession, all Clarke can do for a moment is stare at him in awe. No one else has ever noticed those things about her, and if she’s being honest with herself she hadn’t noticed some of them either (does she really bite her lip that much?).

“Bellamy…I honestly don’t know how to respond to that.”

“Then you don’t have to” he says gently. “I just wanted you to hear it.”

“I’ll find a proper way to response at some point” Clarke promises.

“Believe, me, princess, I know you will” Bellamy responds softly. “Now, shall we rejoin the others?”

“We shall” Clarke jokes.

He holds out his arm, and Clarke happily takes it. When they go to sit down, everyone else greets them with smiles on their faces. Clarke takes a bite of her sandwich, and for a moment, everything is calm. It’s just her, and five of the people she’s come to care about more than practically anyone else.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't apologize enough for taking so long to update. Honestly the only excuse I have is university is a lot harder this year than it was last year, and I've had so many papers to write it was really hard to find any sort of motivation to write for pleasure. But, I have my reading week next week, so I'm hoping to get at least one more update between now and my classes starting up again. After that, I'll update whenever I can find some free time. Kudos to those of you who are able to create time in their lives to write frequently, I honestly have no idea how you do it, and I have so much respect for you all. I think I'm starting to near the end of this, and I have an idea for a longer oneshot AU that I'll start working on after.
> 
> To any new readers, welcome to what is now officially the longest thing I've ever written! Hope you've enjoyed it so far. To those of you who have been around for a while, I can't thank you enough for reading what I've written. This started out as something for me to do while I was bored in the summer, and I'm going to stick with it until the end. And to anyone who got my pop culture reference(s) in this, you have awesome taste in television and we would definitely get along.


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, it's been ages since I've updated, and I sincerely apologize for that. But, I'm now done university for the year (I switched majors about halfway through so it was a rough semester), so I'll be able to update more often now that I don't have to write essays about political institutions and such. I think there will be three or four more chapters after this one, probably with a time jump in the last one as a mini epilogue. I didn't want to abandon this work, because I've known how I want it to end since I started writing it, and I despise not finishing my stories. 
> 
> Also, we've almost made it through the hiatus, guys!! It's been a rough one, but the finish line is so close. On a personal note, I found out that my boyfriend not only watches The 100, but he also ships Bellarke. I suggested watching the Season 4 finale together before we were "official", and when the Bellarke hug happened he said "They should really be together by now, I don't understand why they aren't." I'm glad he brought it up first so I didn't accidentally reveal myself as a huge fangirl...anyways I hope you guys enjoy the chapter! :)

“After spending a lovely day with the Elite yesterday, Monty Green and I came to a mutual decision that he will be the one going home. This means that I am down to my Final Four Elite, and their families will be coming to visit this coming Monday. I am looking forward to meeting the families, especially as one of them will be my future in-laws. I thank the country for your patience in this process, and I am planning to announce my engagement live on the Report on Friday the 15th of December. As that is three weeks from now, there will be an elimination on each of the next two Reports, so I will have a full week with my final two Elite to ensure I am making the correct choice for myself and for our country. I hope everyone has a pleasant evening, and we will now hear an announcement from Ms. Diana Sydney on the status of the new food distribution program from those who are a Five or below.”

Clarke steps off the podium and walks to her seat in between her parents, satisfied with how her speech went. She believes that, even though it technically wasn’t her choice, that eliminating Monty was the right call. Her mother gives her a quick smile when she sits down, but her father doesn’t acknowledge her presence. He’s too focused on Diana’s speech, which is filled with aggressive comments about the caste system and how the monarchy is not doing enough to help the poor. Clarke frowns; there’s no way that is the speech approved by Jake and Thelonious earlier today. She can feel the unrest in the audience, and when she turns around she can see that the Elite look pretty uncomfortable as well. Harper and Finn look ready to bolt at any moment. When Diana finishes her speech to half-hearted applause, Kane quickly wraps up the Report, and the red light signaling that they are live turns off. 

Immediately, Thelonious, Jake, and Abby rush over to Diana and start talking to her. After a few moments of heated conversation, Jake signals some guards over, and they escort Diana out.

“What just happened?” asks Bellamy, giving Clarke a shock. She didn’t hear him walking up to her.

“I think we may have a revolution on our hands” answers Clarke, pulling him off to the side so no one else can hear them. “There has been unrest building in the lower castes for years, and they have been hailing Diana as their hero. Now that she was just fired, there’s a chance that they could revolt. We’ve been hearing rumours that they are building armies in the North, where there is no civilization around for miles. If that’s true, it’s only a matter of time before they try to take down the monarchy.”

“Is there any way to stop them? The guards are well-trained, right?’’

“Yes, they are, but if they have been securing weapons illegally through the black market, which we are fairly certain of, we have a problem. We also don’t know how many there are, and will be unprepared for an attack.”

Bellamy stops to think for a moment. 

“What about other countries? Would they help out?”

“Yes, but only with solid evidence, which we still do not have.”

Clarke looks so defeated, which hurts Bellamy to see. Suddenly, he has an idea of what can be done.

“What if I told you I had direct contact information to the most powerful military nation, and that I could try to convince them to help us?”

“Roan?” Clarke guesses. 

“Yes. Roan gave me his private number, which judging by the expression on your face, even you do not have. I could try to convince him to help. Technically, he did say that it was to assist with me winning the Selection, but I think that mentioning that my life is in danger could help him agree.”

“That could work, but you're going to have to be careful about it. I’ll give you access to a secure phone, and we’ll have Mom, Dad, and Thelonious in the room to help in case something goes wrong.”

“Sounds like a plan” Bellamy says, suddenly feeling nervous. What if he just gave Clarke hope, only to let her down?

Miller comes to the Selected lounge later that night, slightly red-eyed after saying goodbye to Monty. Bellamy saw that they had been getting close, and wondered if that had something to do with Monty leaving. He hands Bellamy a note from Clarke telling him to be ready in his room at 9:00 sharp the next morning to be escorted by one of the King’s guards to his personal office. Luckily, the other Elite do not seem to notice Miller’s entrance and Bellamy’s subsequent uncharacteristic silence, as they are all too busy discussing Diana’s firing. 

“That was so intense!” exclaims Finn. “I’ve never seen be so obviously against the monarchy and caste system before.”

“Me neither” replies Lexa. “I know the caste system has its flaws, but it also seems that King Jake and Queen Abby are working to fix them. She should just accept that she isn’t in charge, and let them do their work. I do hope Clarke is okay, she seemed a bit shocked when the guards took Diana away.” She pauses for a moment. “Bellamy, you were speaking to her after. Did she say anything about Diana?”

“Not really, just that it was a surprise and she did not think Diana would blatantly rebel like that” Bellamy replies vaguely. For obvious reasons he can’t reveal the true nature of their conversation.

“Okay” Lexa responds, seemingly relieved. Finn and Harper slightly smile at his response.

“Well, it’s been a long day, I think I will go to bed now. I will see you all at brunch”.

Bellamy bids goodnight to everyone, and sleepily stumbles into his room. He’s asleep as soon as his head hits the pillow.

The next morning, Miller knocks on Bellamy’s door at 8:00. 

“Why so early” groans Bellamy.

Then, he remembers it’s because the safety of all of Arkadia could depend on the outcome of his phone call to Prince Roan. He definitely needs to be awake and look presentable for that. He downs the coffee Miller has brought him, and takes extra time styling his hair and ironing his pants. At 9:00 on the dot, one of King Jake’s personal guards enters Bellamy’s room. His uniform is much more official than those of the regular guards. 

“This way please, Sir Bellamy” he says. 

Bellamy nods, and ensures that the slip of paper with Prince Roan’s phone number is in his blazer pocket. They walk briskly out of the room, and up to the eighth and highest floor of the palace. As this hallway has the personal rooms of the King and Queen, naturally Bellamy has not been to this floor yet. He takes in his surroundings, with the thick, plush carpets and beautiful (if slightly dusty) portraits of past Kings and Queens. It hits him that his portrait could he hanging up there one day, and he shivers slightly.

The guard reaches the end of the hallway and pulls out a key to unlock a large, plain-looking wooden door. He opens the door for Bellamy, and when Bellamy enters he sees that King Jake, Queen Abby, Thelonious, and Clarke have already arrived, and are sitting solemnly behind the desk.

“We appreciate what you are doing for us, Bellamy” says King Jake, by way of greeting. “And, please know that whatever the outcome of this phone call, you have done our country a great service by simply providing us with the opportunity to arm ourselves if there were to be an attack. I also think that it goes without saying that what occurs here does not leave this room.”

“Of course, Your Majesty” says Bellamy, straightening his back. “I promise that I will try to the best of my abilities to convince Prince Roan to provide us with assistance.”

“We know you will” replies Queen Abby. 

King Jake passes Bellamy a slim phone. Bellamy taps on the phone app, and shakily takes the paper from his pocket and enters the phone number. As the phone starts ringing, he looks to Clarke for reassurance. She gives him a soft smile, and it’s all the encouragement he needs.”

“Sir Bellamy, do what do I owe this pleasure?”

Roan’s booming voice fills up Bellamy’s ear. Wincing, he turns the volume down before answering.

“I am not sure if you have been made aware of the firing of one of the Palace’s top staff, Diana Sydney last night. She criticized the caste system and the monarchy, and we have reason to believe that her comments could cause an uprising. As we do not know the whereabouts or technological capacity of the rebels, if there are any, it is impossible for us to plan a rebuttal against any attack with our resources. King Jake and Queen Abby were hoping that, as the world’s top military nation, Azgeda could provide us with some pre-emptive assistance.”

“I was hoping this was a social call, but I should have known better” Roan teases. “Yes, Azgeda is aware of the Diana Sydney situation. No country in the world knows of this, but we also have an elite spy program. I have spoken with my mother and her top strategists, as we thought that you may contact us for assistance. Azgeda is willing to send in spies to attempt to find and infiltrate the rebel camps, along with military equipment and training, on the condition that you lower our tariffs by 7%, and that Princess Clarke chooses you as the winner of the Selection.”

He says the last part so casually that it takes a moment to sink in.

“I’m sorry, Prince Roan, could you please repeat that last part?”

“Sir Bellamy, I think you heard me perfectly” Roan says mockingly. 

“Could I have a moment to discuss this with the Royal Family?”

“Of course, but do not take too long. This is a time-sensitive offer.” 

“Well, what did he say?” bursts out Clarke.

“They’ll send spies, equipment, and training if you lower tariffs by 7% and if Clarke picks me to be King” replies Bellamy, deliberately not making eye contact with her.

“That is outrageous, they have no right to ask her to do that. Bellamy, could you please give me the phone?”

Bellamy passes the phone to King Jake, whose face is starting to turn red.

“Prince Roan, with all due respect, no one, not even Azgeda, has the authority to twist the line of succession to their satisfaction. My daughter will become engaged to whomever she believes is right for her..”

Prince Roan and Bellamy speak back and forth for a few more minutes, but Bellamy does not hear any of it. He’s too busy thinking about how Clarke must be feeling right now, and worrying about if this is going to change things between them. He tunes back in to reality when King Jake presses the phone back into his hand.

“I’m sorry man, I thought you were for sure going to be picked” Prince Roan apologizes. Bellamy is shocked, both by his apparent change of heart, and by the casual way that the Prince was now speaking to him with. “Look, I’ll talk to my mom, and I’m sure we can find something else to replace that part of the deal. The bottom line is we like your family, and we don’t want to see you annihilated. Of course, we will require something in return for our money and efforts, but we only added Clarke marrying you as a requirement because we for sure thought it was going to happen. Also, it’s clear you’re the best choice, both for her and the country. Tell King Jake that we are holding an emergency meeting in an hour to re-negotiate, and my mom will be directly contacting him.”

“I appreciate that, thank you Prince Roan” Bellamy replies.

“One more thing, and I don’t want you to respond out loud to this, is you need to make it clear to Clarke how you feel before it’s too late. I still think she’s going to pick you, but I’ve known Clarke longer than you have, and if there’s one thing Clarke needs, it’s certainty. She needs to know that you're 100% in before she proposes to you. Don’t take it lightly, because you’re not just getting engaged to her- you're getting engaged to the rest of the country, as well. That’s two big commitments to make. Make sure you’re ready for them.”

Bellamy nods along, and when Prince Roan stops talking he hangs up.

“What did he just say?” asks Queen Abby curiously.

“An apology for putting pressure on Clarke, but he had a coughing fit halfway through which is why it took so long” lies Bellamy smoothly. “Queen Nia is holding another meeting this afternoon, and they will be contacting King Jake with a new term that is not Princess Clarke marrying he. He sincerely apologizes for that, and says that it was not Azgeda’s way of trying to infiltrate the Royal Family.”

“That’s good to know” sighs King Jake. “Did he say why?”

“Apparently Azgeda thinks that I would be the best ruler for Arkadia” admits Bellamy. “I’m not quite sure why, but that’s their opinion, so they thought it would not be a big deal if it was one of the conditions.”

“I’m glad they changed their mind, and we owe you a great debt for securing their assistance, Sir Bellamy” says King Jake. “I pray we never have to use it.”

He opens the door, and Bellamy takes that as his cue to leave. He holds out his arm for Clarke, who stiffly takes it. She walks quickly, practically dragging him behind her, until they’ve reached the other end of the hallway. Clarke opens up the door to a parlour, and pulls him inside. As soon as he’s closed the door, she immediately bursts into tears.

“What’s wrong?” asks Bellamy, gently rubbing her shoulders.

“Everyone has an opinion on who I should pick, and it seems like no one respects that it’s my choice and my future that’s at stake. In the Report today I was told that I had to include the part about making the right choice for myself and the country, and I hated it. At the end of the day, I want to marry the person I love, and if that person is not the best ruler for the country, why should that matter? This whole process is just messed up, because it’s like I’m not only dating you guys, I’m dating all of Arkadia as well.”

She says this all in one breath, and collapses onto Bellamy’s chest, sobbing hysterically. Bellamy doesn’t know what to say, so he simply holds her until she calms down. 

“Sorry for ranting to you, I’ve been feeling like this for a while” Clarke sniffles. 

“No need to apologize” Bellamy says gently. “I’m here for you, always.”

“I know” Clarke smiles. “You’re very important to me, Bellamy Blake. Meeting you was one of the best things that has ever happened to me, and I-”

She trails off, clearly lost in thought. 

“I forgot what I was going to say” she laughs. “The point is; I think I could be very happy with us spending the rest of our lives together.”

“Me too, Clarke” Bellamy responds, pressing a gentle kiss to her forehead. “Me too.”


End file.
